Rie Miyazawa (宮沢 りえ, Miyazawa Rie?, born on April 6, 1973) is a Japanese actress and singer.
Rie Miyazawa was born in Tokyo, Japan and raised by her mother. Since her debut at age eleven in an advertisement for Kit Kat, she has many films, television shows, commercials, stage appearances and photo books to her credit. She starred in the children's comedy Bokura no Nanokakan Senso (AKA Seven Days' War) and Tokyo Elevator Girl. Rie made her J-pop debut on 15 September 1989.
She gained notoriety in 1991 with the publication of a nude photo book, Santa Fe, and even more publicity in 1992 by her engagement to sumo star Takanohana. The engagement was called off in 1993. Following the split, Rie seemed to be on a downward spiral to self-destruction. In September 1994 she cut her wrists with a broken glass in what was described as an "accident". The tabloids focused on Rie's drinking session, fights with her mother and her escape to a nearby hotel as signs of a failed suicide attempt. Rie, however, seemed to pull herself back from the brink, putting in a commendable performance in Kon Ichikawa's movie Chushingura that year. But the following February she pulled out of the drama Kura and in November backed out of the musical Kyote. Pictures of her looking decidedly gaunt began to circulate and there was speculation about whether she had developed an eating disorder.
In early 1996 Rie fled to Los Angeles to begin her recovery from anorexia. But by May she was back on TV reporting from the Cannes Film Festival and later that year she appeared in two TV dramas, Hanayome Kaizoebito and Kyosokyoku. Kyosokyoku turned out to be a great success and it seemed as if Rie's magic touch was back. In 1997 she made Mikeneko Homes (tasogare) Hoteru, and also appeared on stage.
In 2001, Rie won the Best Actress Award at the Moscow International Film Festival by portraying a Chinese Kunqu performer in the Hong Kong movie Peony Pavilion, directed by Yonfan.
Then in 2002, she starred alongside Hiroyuki Sanada in Tasogare Seibei (The Twilight Samurai), the year's hit movie that took a raft of awards at home, including ones for the lead actors, and was even nominated for an Academy Award as Best Foreign Language Film. It was the first samurai movie by director Yoji Yamada, better known for his Tora-san series. In 2003 she played the role of Oshino in the NHK TV series Musashi.
2004's Tony Takitani—a rare adaptation of a short story by bestselling author Haruki Murakami—received critical acclaim, with Rie playing two roles alongside Issei Ogata. The film, which was entered at the Sundance Film Festival, has been described as a "a perfectly controlled minimalist film masterpiece."
In 2005, she starred as Tsubaki, in Ashurajou no Hitomi (あしゅらじょう の ひとみ), which is a movie adaptation of a 16th century play.
