Aoi Miyazaki

Miyazaki started working in the entertainment industry at the age of four. Initially she appeared mostly in commercials, magazine advertisements, and as an extra in television dramas. Miyazaki made her film debut in Ano Natsu no Hi at the age of 14. Also at the age of 14, Miyazaki began to draw international attention for her role as the survivor of a traumatic bus hijack in Shinji Aoyama's Eureka. The film won the International Federation of Film Critics Prize at the Cannes Film Festival 2000, and resulted in her receiving the Best Actress award at the Japanese Professional Movie Awards. She also made her musical debut in The Little Prince in 2003. Later, Miyazaki won Best Actress award in the Cinemanila International Film Festival for her performance in Harmful Insect. She teamed up with Aoyama again in Eli, Eli, Lema Sabachthani?, an Un Certain Regard selection at Cannes 2005. Later in the same year, she co-starred with Mika Nakashima in the mainstream and commercially successful Nana. She won the Galaxy Individual Award for her performance in the NHK drama Atsuhime in 2008.