Masami Nagasawa

Born in the quiet city of Iwata out in Shizuoka on June 3, 1987, Masami Nagasawa kinda seemed destined for the spotlight. Her dad, Nagasawa Kazuaki, wasn’t just any soccer player—he did his thing with Japan’s national team and later coached for Jubilo Iwata, so yeah, sports royalty. But Masami? She had her sights on something glitzier. At just twelve, she blew everyone away by snatching up the Toho Cinderella contest title—the youngest ever, by the way—which pretty much catapulted her into showbiz. By 2000, she was already making her film debut in Crossfire. Like, if you’re picturing your typical Japanese celeb hustle, that’s Masami. She did the school thing at Horikoshi High—the one crawling with future stars—then bounced between movies, TV dramas, even did some gravure modeling for a bit (because, why not?). Oh, and she dropped a single in 2006—Sailor Suit And Machine Gun—while acting in the movie too. Multi-tasking queen. If you saw her face on hot sauce bottles, yeah, she hustled endorsements early on. Major props came her way in 2005 when she snagged Best Supporting Actress at the Japanese Academy Awards for Crying Out Love, In the Centre Of The World—again, youngest ever. Fast forward, her turn in Moteki (2011) showed everyone she wasn’t just a teen idol anymore. Gossip columns loved her—she was linked with Arashi’s Ninomiya Kazunari, then later with Iseya Yusuke after working together on Onna Nobunaga. She hit a weird slump around 2013, but totally bounced back as a voice actress in the global smash Kimi No Na Wa (Your Name). By 2017, she was the face of Taiwan Tourism in Japan. Oh, and she collects stickers. No joke.