Matsuzaka Keiko (1952)

Also Know As: 松坂慶子高内慶子まつざかけいこ Keiko Matsuzaka

Age: 72

Born: Jul 20, 1952

Nationality: Ōta, Tokyo, Japan

Height: 162 CM

Zodiac sign: Cancer

Matsuzaka Keiko is a Japanese actress, born in Outa, Tokyo. Her father was a naturalized South Korean while her mother was Japanese. Active as a child actress in the 1960s, she came into her own as an adult with Daiei, then in 1972 with Shochiku.

Keiko played the "Madonna" role in the 1981 film Naniwa no Koi no Torajirou, the 27th in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series. The producers called on her again for that role in Torajirou no Endan, the 46th of the 49 installments (1993). Keiko also appeared in Legend of the Eight Samurai (1983), Shin Izakaya Yuurei (1996), Dr. Akagi by Shouhei Imamura (1998), Runin: Banished by Eiji Okuda (2004), and Inugamike no Ichizoku (2007). She won the award for best actress at the 6th Hochi Film Award for The Gate of Youth and Tora-san's Love in Osaka, and at the 15th Hochi Film Award for The Sting of Death.

Her early television appearances have included the tokusatsu superhero series Ultra Seven (1968). She portrayed Nohime, wife of Oda Nobunaga, in the 1973 NHK Taiga drama Kunitori Monogatari. From 1973 to 1981, she appeared in Edo o Kiru, including five seasons as the character Oyuki. The 1975 Taiga drama Genroku Taiheiki featured Keiko as Aguri (Youzen'in), the wife and later widow of Asano Naganori in the dramatization of the events of the Forty-seven Ronin. She then appeared in Kusa Moeru in the same time slot in 1979 and portrayed Sada (Kawakami Sadayakko), the lead role in the 1985 Taiga drama Haru no Hatou. Having portrayed Aguri, Keiko also played Riku, the wife of Oishi Yoshio, in Chuushingura Youzen'in no Inbou, broadcast on January 2, 2007. She has made numerous other television appearances in series and specials, jidaigeki, contemporary dramas, and variety shows. She also portrayed "Ikushima" in the 2008 NHK Taiga Drama Atsuhime.

Matsuzaka has represented a variety of products and companies in television commercials. These include Nippon Menard Cosmetic Co., Nissin Foods, Yutoku Pharmaceutical Industries, Nissan Sunny, Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Kleenex, and Otsuka Foods.

Among her other works are songs released in 1979 and 2002, and a book of photographs of her, also in 2002.

(Source: Wikipedia)