Yukie Nakama, born October 30, 1979 is a Japanese actress, singer and former idol. She was born in Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan, into a fisherman's family, the youngest of five siblings. At the start of her career she was a gravure idol and singer (her debut single "Moonlight to Daybreak" was released in 1996), and appeared in bit roles until her career breakthrough playing Sadako in "Ring 0: Birthday (2000)." In Japanese culture, female idols are media personalities in their teens and twenties who are considered particularly attractive or cute and who will, for a period ranging from several months to a few years, regularly appear in the mass media, e.g. as singers for pop groups, bit-part actors, TV personalities (tarento), models in photo spreads published in magazines, advertisements, etc. But not every young celebrity is considered an idol. Young celebrities who wish to cultivate a rebellious image, such as many rock musicians, reject the "idol" label.
In 2000, Nakama demonstrated her talent for comedy with her lead role in the Japanese television drama Trick which proved so popular that it had two more seasons and three film versions, but it was the top-rating 2002 TV series Gokusen, a live-action version of the popular manga, that established her as one of Japan's most popular and bankable actresses.
Nakama has featured in commercials for companies such as Nissin, Glico, Lotte, Asahi, Shiseido, au by KDDI, and has even served as a spokesperson for Japan Railways and the Japanese Tax Agency. She is managed by Production Ogi.
The idol phenomenon began during the early 1970s, reflecting a boom in Japan for the musician Sylvie Vartan in the French film Cherchez l'idole in 1963, with Japanese title in November 1964. The term came to be applied to any cute female actress or singer, or any cute male singer. Teenage girls, mostly between 14 and 16, and teenage males, mostly between 15 and 18, began rising to stardom. One in particular, Momoe Yamaguchi, was a huge star until her marriage and retirement in 1980. Idols dominated the pop music scene in the 1980s, and this period is known as the "Golden Age of Idols in Japan". In a single year, as many as 40 or 50 new idols could appear, only to disappear from the public spotlight shortly afterwards. A few idols from that era, such as Seiko Matsuda, are still popular. In the 1990s, the power of female Japanese idols began to wane, as the music industry shifted towards rock musicians and singers for whom music was a more important sales point than looks or wholesomeness, as well as towards genres such as rap that were harder to square with conventional prettiness. At the same time, the power of male Japanese idols, such as SMAP, Kinki Kids, Tokio, and V6, grew. The Japanese idol phenomenon has had a large impact on popular culture especially in Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and other Asian and non-Asian Countries.
