Mana Ashida

When Mana was 3, her mom thought her becoming an actress would be fun & guided her into the vocation. Her 1st role came in 2009. She was in the TV show Mother on Nippon Television Network Corporation in 2010. The director was looking for a 7-year-old & was reluctant to audition a 5-year old, but things changed when they met, adjusting the script to suit her. She appeared in a historical drama in 2011. She was given the lead role in the serial Sayonara Bokutachi No Youchien ('Good-bye Our Kindergarten') in 2011, which made her at age six the youngest lead actress in Japanese TV history. She appeared in Marumo No Okite ('Marumo's Rule') & also sang the serial's theme song, Maru Maru Mori Mori. It became a Top 10 hit. Next, she became 1 of the Rookie Of The Year Award winners at the 34th Japan Academy Awards for her work in the movie Ghost. She also branched out into voice-over for foreign films' dub into Japanese. She became the youngest person to win Japan's Blue Ribbon Award. She was also the host for the talk-show Meringue No Kimochi in 2011, thus becoming the youngest talk or variety show hostess ever in Japan. She signed w/ Universal Music, debuting a single & an album, supporting her music career by giving concerts in 2012. She was also in the Hollywood movie Pacific Rim. She had earlier become the winner of Celebrity Kids Edition of the Japanese version of the contest Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. She's an avid reader & rides a unicycle. It's said that she could read by 4 & would read 60 books a month, starting from kindergarten. Her fans call her Mana-chan. She's represented by JobbyKids agency.