Leah Donna Dizon (born September 24, 1986) is an American singer, model and media personality.Leah Dizon Official Blog – Profile
After moving to Japan in early 2006 to pursue an entertainment career, she made her recording debut on

Victor Entertainment , also known as in Japan, is a subsidiary of JVCKenwood that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It is known as JVC Entertainment in countries where Sony Music Ente ...

later that same year.

Biography

1986–2004: Childhood and youth

Leah Donna Dizon was born in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, Nevada, on September 24, 1986. Her mother is of French descent while her father is of Filipino Chinese descent. Her parents worked as casino dealers. Dizon is the fourth of six children: she has two older brothers, an older sister, and two younger brothers. In an interview, she explains that she listened to

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and R&B music and trained in dance since the age of 12. Dizon has said that her mother was "very strict and monitored izon'sspending habits". When she was 14 years old, she worked at a clothing store and eventually saved enough money to travel to Japan alone for a trip. She attended the Las Vegas Academy of Performing Arts for her freshman and sophomore years but graduated from the public Eldorado High School in 2004, where she became active in theater. At the age of 18, Dizon relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, California and attended college as a film major for her freshman year.

2005–2007: ''Destiny Line'', early work, and career debut

While living in Los Angeles, Dizon worked as a

promotional model A promotional model is a model hired to drive consumer demand for a product, service, brand, or concept by directly interacting with potential customers. Most promotional models are conventionally attractive in physical appearance. They serve to m ...

for local car shows. Eventually, her photographs were posted online. It was reported that there were 2 million

Google hit Google Search (also known simply as Google) is a search engine provided by Google. Handling more than 3.5 billion searches per day, it has a 92% share of the global search engine market. It is also the most-visited website in the world. Th ...

s within an entire year, with the majority of the viewers being located in China and Japan. Much of the attention received was attributed to her unique looks. She was asked by many Japanese fans—who had seen her photographs—to work in their country, which eventually prompted her to submit several demo tapes and dance videos to

. An agent offered and signed her to a recording contract. In March 2006, Dizon moved to Tokyo and began Japanese lessons alongside voice training. She released her first photobook, ''Petite Amie'' (which means "girlfriend" in French), in October 2006—''Petite Amie'' was ranked as the third best-selling photobook of 2006 and 2007.Japan Book Of The Year
''

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in ...

''. Retrieved February 4, 2009. A few pictorials for various magazines followed. Dizon made her musical debut under Victor Entertainment on February 14, 2007, with the single " Softly". This was followed by " Koi Shiyō", and " L・O・V・E U". which also peaked at number 7 on the

Weekly Chart. The title track is described as a "grooving, up-tempo dance song" and the single features 2 B-sides: "Could you be that one?" and .Leah Dizon / Koi Shiyo (Regular Edition)
''CDJapan''. Retrieved February 4, 2009. ''Koi Shiyō'' was used in a Lotte TV advert, while "Could you be that one?" was featured in a

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...

Ninja Gaiden Sigma is an action adventure hack and slash video game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo for the Xbox. It was released in March 2004. Players control Ryu Hayabusa, a master ninja, in his quest to recover a stolen sword and avenge the sl ...

'' TV advert, with Dizon starring in both commercials. In September 2007, Dizon released her debut album, '' Destiny Line'', under Victor Entertainment. The CD+DVD Edition contains 14 tracks, 10 of which she penned herself on the single PVs alongside a special album PV "Again and Again". The CD+1 only edition contains the digitally-released remix of "Koi Shiyō", called "Koi Shiyō (

Yasutaka Nakata is a Japanese DJ and music producer. He formed the band Capsule in 1997 with vocalist Toshiko Koshijima and himself as composer and record producer when both were 17. The band debuted in 2001 with the song "Sakura". He is known for being the ...

- Capsule Mix)".

2008–2011: ''Communication!!!'', marriage, and pregnancy

After the release of ''Destiny Line'', Dizon continued with two singles: " Love Paradox" and "

Vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the p ...

" (both 2008). Her second album, '' Communication!!!'', was released in August 2008. "Under the Same Sky" was used as the theme song for the Japanese drama ''Tokyo Prom Queen'', while "Lost At Sea" was used for season 2. She made a

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...

on the show as Naomi, the prom queen from the previous year, through photos and video snippets. In February 2008, Dizon began dating her stylist Bun (born 1979), whom she had met while shooting the music video for "Love Paradox". On October 10, 2008, three months pregnant, Dizon married Bun in a traditional Japanese ceremony. These initial stages were chronicled and announced during her ''Communication!!! Album Tour'' several days after the marriage. The couple's daughter was born in April 2009. On February 14, 2010, Dizon appeared on live television, claiming that her marriage had been troubled ever since the birth. On October 31, 2010, she announced that she and Bun had separated and filed for divorce earlier that month, and she was seeking full custody of their child. According to Dizon, the split was due to "busy schedules and inability to meet regularly differing opinions toward raising children" alongside "irreconcilable differences". According to a statement released on February 22, 2011, by Dizon's agency, Dizon received full custody of their daughter Mila and details of their arrangement were private. Their divorce was finalized in December 2010. Dizon subsequently attended the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City, where she graduated in December 2012. After graduating, Dizon stated that she would like to return to Japan for work in the future. In June 2011, Dizon filmed commercials in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

for Shonan Cosmetic Surgery Clinic.

2012–present: Return to Japan

On December 14, 2012, Dizon announced that she had signed a contract with a talent agency in the US, and would also be accepting any offers for Japanese work if she were to receive any. The magazine ''Joseijishin'' reported in June 2013 that Dizon's ex-husband Bun had stopped paying child support for their daughter, which was the main reason Dizon returned to Japan, before moving to Las Vegas with her mother and daughter. As of 2018, Dizon was a senior at

Nevada State University The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12, ...

, majoring in

social psychology Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the ...

, and had plans to attend

graduate school Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

Discography

Albums

Mini-albums

Singles

Concert DVDs

* ''Live Communication!!!'' (2008)

Video game soundtracks

* "Everlasting Love + You" (

Katamari Forever ''Katamari Forever'', known in Japan as , is a video game in the ''Katamari'' series. The game was released for the PlayStation 3 console in Japan on July 23, 2009, on September 22, 2009 in North America, and September 18, 2009 in Europe. A demo o ...

) (2009) * "Bomb a Head!" (''Samurai & Dragons version ft. Leah Dizon'') (Samurai & Dragons) (2013)

Filmography

Film

* ''Traffic in the Sky'' (''トラフィック・イン・ザ・スカイ'') (2007) * '' Kiba Gaiden'' (''呀＜KIBA＞～暗黒騎士鎧伝～'') (2011)

Television

* ''Webtama'' as a co-host (2007) * ''Sakigake Ongaku Banzuke Vegas'' as host (2007) * ''

J-Melo ''J-Melo'' is a weekly Japanese music television program broadcast by NHK. It is recorded entirely in the English language. It began broadcasting on October 7, 2005. The program is available on NHK's World Service television station, Radio Japan, ...

'' as host (2007)

Plays

* ''Words Yakusoku / Uragiri: Subete, Ushinawareshi Mono no Tame'' (2009) * ''To Drop Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima'' (2009)

References

External links

Leah Dizon Official Blog

Leah Dizon at Tokyo Rabbit RecordsLeah Dizon at Victor Entertainment
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dizon, Leah 1986 births Living people American expatriates in Japan American women pop singers American musicians of Chinese descent American musicians of Filipino descent American people of French descent Expatriate television personalities in Japan J-pop singers Musicians from Las Vegas Victor Entertainment artists American models of Filipino descent American models of Chinese descent 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers