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Best known for her work as a singer in the 1970's group Candies, where she went under the nickname "Sue", and her role as Asuka Okouchi in Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989), Tanaka started her show business career in 1969 after registering for the Tokyo Music School. This led to a brief appearance on TV, alongside fellow classmates, in 1972. Shortly afterwards, Tanaka helped form the pop folk musical group "Candies" with Ran Ito and Miki Fujimura in 1973. The trio were hugely popular in Japan up through 1977 when the group made headlines for abruptly stating their intent to leave the music industry to proceed normal lives, doing a farewell concert a few days before Tanaka's birthday in 1978.
However, a few years later, Yoshie Tanaka returned to the spotlight by releasing a solo single in 1980 and appearing in several movies in the early 1980's, including Tadashi Imai's box office hit Eternal Monument (1982). By this point, Tanaka had transitioned into a full time actress, appearing in Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) and Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) as two high profile projects. Tragically, although these details were kept secret up until her death, during production on Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) Tanaka was diagnosed with breast cancer. She would face many years of battling the illness while having a successful career as an actress, winning the Best Actress Award for Black Rain at the 14th Hochi Film Award. Sadly, Tanaka eventually passed away on April 21st, 2011, as a result of the cancer.
Other names: Sue (スーちゃん) |
