Best known for
her role of Kiyomi Nagashima/Mitochondria
Eve in Parasite
Eve (1997), Riona Hazuki, born under
the name Mai Yamada, moved to Chicago when
she was nine years old and lived there until
1992. At that point she was discovered by
a Japanese talent scout who was impressed
by the then 17 year old girl. Shortly afterwards,
Hazuki flew back to Japan to begin an acting
career. She started off as a regular in several
Japanese television shows before making the
jump to the big screen in 1995 with the film Sharaku.
Two years later, she got the role of the
antagonist in the film Parasite
Eve (1997).
Unfortunately, Hazuki
has a larger reputation outside of the screen
rather than on it, making headlines for her
book, featuring numerous shots of her nude,
and her habit of having relationships with
married men, such as actor Hiroyuki
Sanada who was later divorced by his
wife (Satomi Tezuka) as a result of the affair.
As a side note, Hazuki has two different
spellings for her name, 葉月里緒奈 and 葉月里緒菜.
Both are pronounced the same way, though,
and the reported reason for the difference
is that one was intended for the Korean market.
Other names: Mai Yamada (山田麻衣), Riona Hazuki (葉月里緒菜) |