Who is Rila Fukushima? 6 Quick Facts About the Japanese Model and Actress

Quick Facts

Japanese model turned actress Rila Fukushima is one of a few leading actresses representing Japan on the global stage. Her star is steadily on the rise – thanks to her modeling and acting careers. She is known for her roles in The Wolverine, Arrow, and Ghost in the Shell.

Who Is Rila Fukushima?

For so many ladies who are naturally endowed with amazing body builds and features, modeling has become their go-to profession. However, for Rila Fukushima, she didn’t set out to model herself, she wanted to build her career around other models by representing them. While on her quest, she was scouted and has gone ahead to do great in the sphere as well as branch into other successful ventures such as acting.

Rila was born in Tokyo, Japan on the 26th day of January 1989. She was raised a Roman Catholic by her parents whose names are yet to be disclosed. Information about her family background, siblings, early life, is not available either. However, it is known that she attended a music school for two years after she graduated from high school.

6 Quick Facts About the Japanese Model and Actress

1. She Wanted to be a Model Agent

Rila has always wanted to be in the fashion industry, especially in the modeling sphere. Interestingly, not as a fashion model but as a model agent. However, while trying to secure a position as such in a Tokyo agency, she was convinced to try modeling herself. And since then, she has become one of the top models in Japan and has not had a cause to look back.

2. Modeling Career

She took off at the age of 21 and has worked for numerous labels and brands in various shows and campaigns as well as appeared in various international fashion publications. Rila Fukushima came into the limelight in 2004 with a Dolce & Gabbana campaign and has since featured for other big names in the industry such as Kenzo and The Gap. Moreover, she has been on the cover of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar and went as far as being named one of Vogue Japan’s Women of the Year in 2013.

Additionally, Fukushima is one of Nicolas Ghesquière’s long-time muses. Ghesquière is one of the leading fashion designers in the world and the artistic director of women’s collections at Louis Vuitton since 2013. In 2017, Rila opened the Louis Vuitton Cruise show in Kyoto. She also appeared on the June 2017 issue of Vogue Japan alongside Ghesquière and other models including and .

Along the models Fukushima admires are Helena Christensen, , and .

3. Rila Fukushima is an Incredible Actress

A few years after she got established in the industry, Rila decided to give acting a try. Her film debut was as Rei in the short movie, Karma: A Very Twisted Love Story (2010). After her first attempt, she made a giant leap into the arena with a major role in the Marvel film The Wolverine as Yukio, a deadly assassin/ precognitive mutant alongside the superhero, .

In 2014, Rila Fukushima appeared in the TV shows, the historical fiction series (Taiga drama) Gunshi Kanbei as Omichi, The Long Goodbye as Lily and in the film, Twilight: Saya in Sasara as Erica. Fukushima was cast in Arrow to replace  from the third season in the role of Tatsu Yamashiro/ Katana.

She played the Red Princess in a season 5 episode, High Sparrow of the HBO series Game of Thrones in 2015. The same year, she starred in Gonin Saga and Warrior and in Terra Formars (2016).

Her other notable projects include a recurring role in Netflix’s Million Yen Women (2017) as Minami Shirakawa and the sci-fi film, Ghost in the Shell where she portrayed the red-robed geisha.

4. Social Media Presence

For someone who has worked in a number of interesting places and definitely met a lot of people in her life, enjoying huge followership on social media is one of the perks that comes with it. Fukushima is followed by more than 127k people on her Instagram page and over 17k on Twitter. Her fan base includes some of the most influential members of the Japanese creative scene.

5. Relationship Status

Rila Fukushima is reportedly single but has been linked to another Japanese, singer Naoto Takenaka in the past. She was rumored to be in a relationship with Takenaka who is also a comedian and director.

6. Body Measurements

It takes more than a pretty face to be a model and excel in the industry. To succeed therein, one is expected to have a certain build, height, weight, depending on the category one has interest in. For Rila who is a fashion model, her ideal height of 5′ 6¼” (1.68 m) and body mass weighing 53 kilograms does more than enough to ensure she excels in her career.

Her pair of sparkling black eyes and black and wavy hair further accentuates her beauty.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.