Yuumi Kawai

Yuumi Kawai or Yūmi Kawai (河合 優実, Kawai Yūmi; born 19 December 2000 in Tokyo) is a Japanese actress.^[1][2]

Yuumi Kawai
河合 優実
Kawai at the Tokyo International Film Festival in October 2024
Born	(2000-12-19) 19 December 2000 (age 24) Tokyo, Japan
Alma mater	Nihon University College of Art
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2019–present

Career

In 2019, Kawai made her acting debut in the short film Yodominaku, Yamanai.^[1] In 2022, she was given the Best Newcomer award at the 43rd Yokohama Film Festival for her roles in A Balance and It's a Summer Film.^[3] She continued her success by winning Best Supporting Actress at the 44th Yokohama Film Festival for her roles in various other films,^[4] including Plan 75, which earned her a nomination of Best Supporting Actress at the 16th Asian Film Awards.^[5][6]

She has also been active in television drama acting, with roles in Extremely Inappropriate!^[7] and The Child Of God Murmurs^[8] earning her two acting awards in 2024. In particular, audience of Extremely Inappropriate! (where Kawai plays a high-school student in the 1980s) noticed her resemblance to Momoe Yamaguchi when in-character, and proceeded to name Kawai "Momoe-chan from the Reiwa era".^[9][10] This TV series had a significant impact, and after its broadcast ended, she was cast in commercials for well-known companies such as Shiseido, Uniqlo, and Suntory. According to Oricon's survey, she ranked as the No. 1 breakout actress of the first half of 2024.^[11]

Kawai was chosen as one of the 15 individuals (or groups) for "This Year's Face" by Model Press, and 2024 became a breakthrough year for her.^[12]

Personal life

Her hobbies are dancing, singing, drawing and playing basketball. When she was in the third grade, she started to attend dance studio with her younger sister. Although she went on hiatus in dancing during middle school, Kawai joined her high school dance club. As she continued dancing, she realized the joy of "expressing" and decided to become an actress.^[13]

Kawai is good friends with fellow actress Ai Mikami, as both of them attended Nihon University College of Art together.^[14]

She respects Mirai Moriyama as both an actor and a dancer.^[15]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2019	Yodominaku, Yamanai		Lead role; short film	[1]
2020	Rolling Marbles	Moeko		[16]
	A Beloved Wife	High school girl who makes Udon		[1]
	Sasaki in My Mind	Naemura		[17]
2021	It's a Summer Film	Beat-ban (Kickboard)		[18]
	A Balance	Mei		[19]
	Unfeigned Happy Ending	Yū		[20]
2022	Just Remembering	Izumi		[21]
	Love Nonetheless	Misaki		[22]
	To Be Killed by a High School Girl	Aoi Sugi		[23]
	Plan 75	Yōko Narimiya		[24]
	A Man	Akane		[25]
	A Winter Rose	Tomoka Misaki		[26]
	The Lines That Define Me	Kawagishi		[27]
	A Hundred Flowers	Misaki		[28]
2023	Sayonara, Girls.	Manami Yamashiro	Lead role	[29]
	In Her Room	Yōko		[30]
	Heartless	Hana		[31]
2024	A Girl Named Ann	Ann	Lead role	[32]
	April Come She Will	Jun Sakamoto		[33]
	Look Back	Fujino (voice)	Lead role	[34]
	Desert of Namibia	Kana	Lead role	[35]
	Hakkenden: Fiction and Reality	Hamaji		[36]
2025	Teki Cometh	Ayumi Sugai		[37]
	She Taught Me Serendipity	Hana Sakurada		[38]
	A Bad Summer	Aimi Hayashino		[39]
	Renoir	Kuriko Kita		[40]
	Two Seasons, Two Strangers			[41]

Television drama

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2019	In Hand	Kaori Kikuchi	Episode 4	[42]
2022	Teen Regime	Suguri Saiga	Miniseries	[43]
	One Night Morning	Tamako	Lead role; episode 4	[44]
	First Love	Nanako Kimitsu	Episode 3	[45]
2023	My Family	Nami Kishimoto	Lead role	[46]
	The Child of God Murmurs	Haruka Kinoshita	Lead role; television film	[47]
2024	Extremely Inappropriate!	Junko Ogawa		[48]
	RoOT/Route of Odd Taxi	Rena	Lead role	[49]
	Like a Dragon: Yakuza	Yumi Sawamura		[50]
2025	Anpan	Ranko Asada	Asadora	[51]

Other television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2024	75th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen	Judge		[52]

Music video appearances

Year	Song	Artist	Ref.
2021	Duets	Maaya Sakamoto	[53]
2022	Ame San San	King Gnu	[54]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work(s)	Result	Ref.
2022	41st Zenkoku Eiren Awards	Best Supporting Actress	A Balance	Won	[55]
	43rd Yokohama Film Festival	Best Newcomer	A Balance and It's a Summer Film	Won	[3]
	76th Mainichi Film Awards	Best New Actress	A Balance	Nominated	[56]
	95th Kinema Junpo Awards	Best New Actress	A Balance, It's a Summer Film and Unfeigned Happy Ending	Won	[57]
	64th Blue Ribbon Awards	Best Newcomer	A Balance and It's a Summer Film	Won	[58]
	Elle Cinema Awards 2022	ElleGirl Rising Star	Love Nonetheless and Plan 75	Won	[59]
	35th Nikkan Sports Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Plan 75, A Winter Rose, A Man, and others	Nominated	[60]
		Best Newcomer		Won
	47th Hochi Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Plan 75, A Winter Rose and Just Remembering	Nominated	[61]
2023	44th Yokohama Film Festival	Best Supporting Actress	Plan 75, A Winter Rose, A Man, and others	Won	[62]
	16th Asian Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Plan 75	Nominated	[5]
2024	50th Hoso Bunka Foundation Prize	Acting Skill Award	NHK Special "Shūkyō nisei" series The Child of God Murmurs	Won	[8]
	Elle Cinema Awards 2024	Elle Best Actress	Desert of Namibia	Won	[63]
	37th Nikkan Sports Film Awards	Best Actress	A Girl Named Ann, Desert of Namibia and Look Back	Nominated	[64]
2025	79th Mainichi Film Awards	Best Lead Performance	A Girl Named Ann and Desert of Namibia	Won	[65]
	67th Blue Ribbon Awards	Best Actress		Won	[66]
	98th Kinema Junpo Awards	Best Actress		Won	[67]
	49th Elan d'or Awards	Newcomer of the Year	Herself	Won	[68]
	48th Japan Academy Film Prize	Best Actress	A Girl Named Ann	Won	[69]
	18th Asian Film Awards	Best Actress	Desert of Namibia	Nominated	[70]