is a Japanese singer and actress, a former member of

Morning Musume , formerly and commonly known as and colloquially referred to as , is a Japanese girl group, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon, Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most to ...

, and a member of

Dream Morning Musume is a Japanese female pop group, consisting of 10 former members of the Japanese girl group Morning Musume. It was created in 2011. As with Morning Musume, the group is managed by the Up-Front Agency and produced by Tsunku. During the announcem ...

Biography

She was born in

Muroran, Hokkaidō is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Iburi Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 76,385, with 43,494 households ...

, Japan.

Career

On August 13, 2003, she released her first single, "22 Sai no Watashi," which means "Me, 22 years old," just a few days after her 22nd birthday. Her first full-length album, ''Hitoribotchi'', was then released on February 4, 2004, containing many solo versions of Morning Musume songs. In August 2005, her fifth single, "Koi no Hana," which means "Flower of Love," was released, and she also became a member of the Hello! Project special unit

Def.Diva Def.Diva (often stylized as DEF.DIVA) was a "special group" formed in 2005 from the Hello! Project idol umbrella, and consisted of Aya Matsuura, Maki Goto, Natsumi Abe and Rika Ishikawa. The band's name is an abbreviation of the phrase "Definite ...

together with

Maki Goto is a Japanese singer, lyricist, and former actress. Born and raised in Edogawa, Tokyo, Goto began her musical career in 1999 when she joined Morning Musume as the only third generation member. Her first single with the group, "Love Machine (Mo ...

Rika Ishikawa , is a Japanese actress and model associated with Hello! Project and best known as a former member of the pop group Morning Musume. She was the leader of the Japanese pop idol trio V-u-den until June 2008. She has performed as a solo singer, a ...

and

Aya Matsuura is a former Japanese pop singer and actress, from Himeji, Hyogo, Japan. Career 2000–2009: Hello! Project Aya auditioned in 2000 for the fourth Morning Musume & Heike Michiyo Protegee Audition and was selected along with Sheki-Dol to become ...

in October. The single "Takaramono" was also released in November credited as "Sen", who is the main character of the drama "Takaramono", played by Abe. In the spring of 2006, Abe released a new single, "Sweet Holic", together with a new album, "2nd ~Shimiwataru Omoi~". June 2006 saw Abe release "

The Stress is the sixth single by Japanese singer/songwriter Chisato Moritaka. The lyrics were written by Moritaka and the music was composed by Hideo Saitō. The single was released by Warner Pioneer on February 25, 1989. The full title of the single is ...

," a cover of the 1989 song by pop idol

Chisato Moritaka (born 11 April 1969) is a Japanese pop singer who also is notable as a songwriter. She is affiliated with Up-Front Create, a subsidiary of the Up-Front Group.

. In October of the same year "Amasugita Kajitsu" was released, reaching 5th on the

Oricon Chart , 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 N ...

, the highest place she achieved since "Koi no Telephone Goal" in 2004. On October 5, 2008, Abe performed in an event to mark the 30th anniversary of the Sunshine City building in

Ikebukuro is a commercial and entertainment district in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. Toshima ward offices, Ikebukuro Station, and several shops, restaurants, and department stores are located within city limits. Transportation At the center of Ikebukuro is ...

. She was joined by other artists who were popular in the 1980s, such as

Hiroko Moriguchi (born June 13, 1968, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan), better known by her stage name is a female Japanese singer and tarento. Moriguchi is affiliated with the talent agency NoReason Inc., where she also serves as Second Production Departm ...

and

Ayumi Nakamura is a Japanese volleyball player who plays for JT Marvelous. She also plays for the All-Japan women's volleyball team. Nakamura played for the All-Japan team for the first time at the Montreux Volley Masters in May 2013. Clubs * Sawa Junior ...

. It was announced on October 19, 2008, on the official Hello! Project website, that Abe will graduate from Hello! Project along with the rest of Elder Club on March 31, 2009. On September 15, 2010, Abe released her 12th single, . In 2010, it was announced that Natsumi Abe was going to form a new group named "Dream Morning Musume" with several other former Morning Musume members. In summer 2011, Natsumi Abe was cast in the live action drama ''

Arakawa Under the Bridge is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hikaru Nakamura (manga artist), Hikaru Nakamura. The manga was first serialized in the Seinen manga, ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Young Gangan'' from December 2004 to July 2015. An anime t ...

'' as P-ko.

Traffic accident

On October 7, 2007, Abe's car collided with a motorcyclist in

Shibuya, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. A major commercial center, Shibuya houses one of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shibuya Station. As of January 1, 2024, Shibuya Ward has an estimated population of 230,609 in 142,443 households ...

. The motorcyclist suffered minor injuries, but Abe was unhurt. She had obtained her driver's license only in July of that year.

Personal life

Abe married fellow actor

Ikusaburo Yamazaki is a Japanese actor and singer who is represented by Ken-On. Personal life Yamazaki married singer and actress Natsumi Abe is a Japanese singer and actress, a former member of Morning Musume, and a member of Dream Morning Musume. Bio ...

in December 2015. The couple has three sons. They welcomed their first child, on July 27, 2016, their second child on October 31, 2018, and their third child on December 27, 2022, respectively.

Discography

Singles

Albums

Filmography

Television

* *

Dramas

* * * Angel Hearts (2002) * * Takaramono (November 2005) * Arakawa Under the bridge (2012)

Radio

Movies

* Morning Cop * Pinch Runner * Tokkaekko * Last Present * Koinu Dan no Monogatari * Prison Girl * Tokyo Decibels

Dubbing

* '' PAW Patrol: The Movie'', Liberty * '' PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie'', Liberty

Publications

Photobooks

Essay books

Calendars

* * ''Natsumi Abe 2005 Calendar'' (September 2004) * ''Natsumi Abe 2006 Calendar'' (October 12, 2005) * ''Natsumi Abe 2007 Calendar'' (October 2006)

References

External links

Official Hello! Project discography
*
Official Home Page

Official Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abe, Natsumi 1981 births Living people Def.Diva members Hello! Project solo singers Japanese women pop singers Japanese child singers Japanese female idols Japanese film actresses Japanese television actresses Dream Morning Musume members Morning Musume members People from Muroran Salt5 members Musicians from Hokkaido 20th-century Japanese women singers 20th-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese actresses 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers