PROFILE

PERSONAL

Birthday February 15
Constellation The Water Bearer
Blood Type Type O
Height 174 cm
Nickname Taka-Chan
Pet dog Long coat Chihuahua （Name:Purio）

BIOGRAPHY

Yoka Wao was born in Osaka, Japan, on February 15.
Tall and handsome as a young woman, Yoka was seen as having a bright future from the time of her stage debut with the Takarazuka Revue Company in 1988. The following year she was chosen for the role of Oscar in The Rose of Versaille for the newcomer’s stage, and she moved into the limelight when her performance was well-received. Yoka continued to perform on the newcomers’ stage and won her first starring role in Heaven and Hell in 1993. Yoka garnered another starring role in 1995 in Grand Shanghai, which was performed for audiences at the Takarazuka Bow Hall. Over the next few years, she continued to play lead roles at Bow Hall and in other newcomer productions.

In 1998, Yoka joined a Hong Kong tour as a leading member of the newly formed Cosmos Troupe, a part of the Takarazuka Revue Company. In 1996 and 1999, Yoka gained further recognition for her roles as Elmer, Rudolph （Tokyo） and Franz Joseph in the popular musical Elisabeth. She became the lead performer for Cosmos in the year 2000, and her inaugural performance was choreographed by SAM, one of the most popular Japanese dancers. Yoka continued to perform such leading roles as Fersen in The Rose of Versailles 2001, Leonard in Castel Mirage and Calaf in Legend of the Phoenix. In 2004, Yoka won rave reviews for her singing and flawless acting when she played the role of the Phantom in the musical of the same name. In the same year, she and fellow actor Mari Hanafusa received the Kikuta Kazuo Drama Award for their performance in Boxman. In the autumn of 2004, Yoka played the role of Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind, and later received an award for her performance in A Kiss to the Flames, a play based on Verdi’s Il Trovatore. In 2006, Frank Wildhorn, the renowned composer for the musical Jekyll and Hyde, wrote the entire score for Yoka’s final show with the Takarazuka Revue Company, Never Say Goodbye.

On July 2, 2006, Yoka Wao gave her last performance as a member of the Takarazuka Revue Company. The media reported that a record 10,000 fans thronged the theater in an effort to catch a glimpse of her that day. Further evidencing Yoka’s constant status as a top star of the company, a collection of photographs taken by the distinguished Kishin Shinoyama around the time of the performer’s departure was published.

In January 2007, Yoka Wao performed for the first time since leaving the Takarazuka Revue Company at the Aoyama Theater in Tokyo. The tickets for the concert sold out immediately.
Yoka was recognized as an outstandingly independent and self-reliant woman in the 15th anniversary issue of the fashion magazine FRaU, in which she was featured in a seven-page article. She has appeared on the cover of Fujin Koron （Women's Voice） and AERA magazine and was recently featured in high fashion, a major fashion magazine. Yoka has also received considerable exposure from an appearance in a TV commercial.

On August 17, 18 and 19, 2007, she performed for the second time at the Tokyo International Forum Hall A, since leaving the Takarazuka. Immediately after that performance, she appeared as a special guest with Russell Watson, a visiting British singer, followed by an appearance at the 20th JAL Otobutai（Sound Stage） at the Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto.
Also, she will appear in her first film and starring role in the TOEI film titled CHACHA （Tengai no Onna）, scheduled for release on December 22, 2007.

She won the Osaka Cinema Fesitval Award For Best Actress in 2008 for her performance in CHACHA. Yoka will play the role of Velma Kelly in the first Japanese-cast production ever of the Broadway musical CHICAGO, opening in autumn 2008 Yoka Wao's star is shining brighter than ever today. We can't keep our eyes off of her!

FAN LETTER

Please send fan letters to the following address

Yoka Wao 4-14-4-1002 Ginza Cyuou-ku, Tokyo, 104-0061 Japan