Profile
- Name: 北川景子 (きたがわ けいこ)
- Name (romaji): Kitagawa Keiko
- Profession: Actress and model
- Birthdate: 1986-Aug-22
- Birthplace: Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
- Height: 160cm
- Weight: 42kg
- Star sign: Leo
- Blood type: O
- Family: Younger brother
- Talent agency: Stardust
Life
Kitagawa was born on August 22, 1986 in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and has a younger brother. She grew up in Kobe, and lost many friends in the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995. As a child, she wanted to be a doctor, but by the time she reached high school she was uncertain as to whether she could do that, and not sure what to do in the future. At around this time, she was scouted by a talent agency, and she decided to try the entertainment world. Her parents were initially opposed, but they gave their permission, on two conditions: that she give up if she was making no progress within a year, and that she put her studies first and graduate from university. She has kept the second half of the promise, graduating in commercial science from Meiji University in Tokyo in March 2009.
The one year time limit did not prove to be a problem. Within a week or so of joining an agency, she had been selected as both a model and an actress. She was chosen as Miss Seventeen 2003, which led to her working as a model with the Japanese Seventeen until she graduated from the magazine in September 2006. In the latter part of the run, she had her own regular feature, "Keiko's Beauty Honey".
As an actress, she was given the role of Rei Hino in the live action television series of Sailor Moon, which began her acting career. Her first significant film role was in Mamiya Kyōdai, and as result of the influence of the director, Yoshimitsu Morita, she decided to concentrate on acting rather than modeling. She initially concentrated on films, including the leading roles in Cherry Pie and Dear Friends. In late 2007, she had her first leading role in a TV drama, in the late-night drama Mop Girl. In 2008, she was given the role of the heroine in Homeroom on the Beachside, Fuji Television's Monday 9pm drama for the summer season. As this is the headline drama slot for a major network, it represented a major step forward for her career.
She moved to Tokyo when she started working as an actress and model, and has lived there since. She traveled to California for the filming of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, and returned there to study English for a couple of months early in 2006. At this time, she started a blog, which she continued until June 2007; the blog was deleted in July 2007. From May to December 2007, she wrote a column entitled Keytan Hakusho for the Japanese weekly television listings magazine Weekly The Television. ("Kii-tan" was her nickname at elementary school. "Hakusho" means "white paper".) She started a new blog at the end of May 2008, shortly before her role in Homeroom on the Beachside was announced.
She describes herself as a stay-at-home person, and likes watching DVDs, listening to music, and reading books. When asked what she would do if the world was going to end tomorrow, she said "read books". She also likes swimming, particularly backstroke. She has a pet (male) cat, called Jill.
Renzoku Drama
- LADY~Saigo no Hanzai Profile~ as Kazuki Shoko (TBS, 2011)
- Tsuki no Koibito as Onuki Yuzuki (Fuji TV, 2010)
- Hitsudan Hostess as Saito Rie (TBS, 2010)
- Buzzer Beat as Shirakawa Riko (Fuji TV, 2009)
- Taiyo to Umi no Kyoshitsu as Enokido Wakaba (Fuji TV, 2008)
- Mop Girl as Hasegawa Momoko (TV Asahi, 2007)
Movies
- Paradise Kiss Live Action (2011)
- Matataki / Blink as Sonoda Izumi (2010)
- Shikeidai no Elevator / Elevator To The Gallows (2010)
- Hana no Ato / After The Flowers as Ito (2010)
- Watashi Dasuwa / It's On Me (2009)
- Manatsu no Orion / Orion in Midsummer as Shizuko/Izumi (2009)
- Handsome Suit as Hoshino Hiroko (2008)
- Southbound as Uehara Youko (2007)
- Sono Toki wa Kare ni Yoroshiku / Say Hello For Me as Katsuraki Momoko(2007)
- Heat Island as Nao (2007)
- Dear Friends as Rina (2007)
- Cherry Pie as Kiyohara (2006)
- The Fast and The Furious 3: Tokyo Drift as Reiko (2006)
- Mamiya Kyoudai as Honma Yumi (2006)
- Mizu ni Sumu Hana/Romance of Darkness as Mizuchi Rikka (2006)
- Kirari Super Live as Hino Rei/Sailor Mars (2004)
Recognitions
- 13th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix (Summer 2009): Best Actress for Buzzer Beat
- 55th Television Drama Academy Awards: Special Award for Mop Girl
Trivia
- Education: Meiji University (Major in Commercial Science, March 2009 graduate).
- Hobbies: Studying, reading, swimming, calligraphy, and badminton
- She won the Miss Seventeen 2003 title and became a model in the Japanese Seventeen magazine from 2003-2006.
- Has a pet cat named, Jill/Jiru.
Books
- 2006 : STYLISH STREET BOOK "I've been to Hollywood!"
- 2007 : Kitagawa Keiko Shashinshū Dear Friends
- 2008 : Actress Make Up
- 2010 : Actress Make Up II
