Ann-Sophie Lennerfors (born 16 November 1970) is a Swedish-Japanese TV personality, film critic and part-time professional wrestler who lives and works in Japan, best known under the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

LiLiCo.

Biography

Early life

LiLiCo was born Ann-Sophie Lennerfors in Stockholm, Sweden, to a Japanese mother and a Swedish father. As a biracial child in Sweden, LiLiCo was bullied while at school. Her father left the family when LiLiCo was 9 years old.

Career in Japan

LiLiCo moved to Japan in 1988 at the age of 18, initially staying with her grandmother in

Katsushika, Tokyo is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. It is known as Katsushika City in English. As of May 1, 2015, the ward has an estimated population of 444,356, and a population density of 12,770 people per km2. ...

. In May 1989, LiLiCo embarked on a career as a singer, releasing her first single in 1992. In 2001, she was offered a job as a film critic on TBS's Saturday morning ''King's Brunch'' programme.

Professional wrestling

In 2014, LiLiCo began working for Japanese professional wrestling company

DDT Pro-Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name is an initialism of Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's original name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the p ...

(DDT), where, over the next three years, she won the

Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship The is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion CyberFight in its DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT) brand. Open to anyone, regardless of gender or DDT employment status, the championship is defended "24/7", as in ...

twice and the

DDT Extreme Championship The is a singles title in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling. The title was established in 2006 and it is mostly defended in stipulation matches, with the defending champion being given the right to choose the stipu ...

once, while also becoming part of the inaugural KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Champions. After having fractured her

patella The patella (: patellae or patellas), also known as the kneecap, is a flat, rounded triangular bone which articulates with the femur (thigh bone) and covers and protects the anterior articular surface of the knee joint. The patella is found in m ...

in 2020, forcing her to give up wrestling, LiLiCo was invited back to DDT to have a

retirement match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

on March 20, 2022, at Judgement 2022: DDT 25th Anniversary.

Filmography

Cinema

* ''

Kiki's Delivery Service is a 1989 Japanese Anime, animated fantasy film written, produced, and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, based on Eiko Kadono's 1985 novel ''Kiki's Delivery Service (novel), Kiki's Delivery Service''. Animated by Studio Ghibli, the film stars Minami ...

'' (2014), voice of radio DJ * ''Smokin' on the Moon'' (2018) * '' 108: Revenge and Adventure of Goro Kaiba'' (2019), Adrianne * ''Niwatori Phoenix'' (2022) * ''Let's Talk About the Old Times'' (2022), herself * ''The Ohara Family Rhapsody'' (2024), Rikako * ''90 Years Old – So What?'' (2024)

TV drama

* (2014, TV Tokyo), Ryoko Azuma

Dubbing

Live-action

*''

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll, Bild Lilli doll which Hand ...

'' (Mermaid Barbie (

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( ; born22 August 1995) is an English and Albanian singer, songwriter and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Dua Lipa, Her accolades include seven Brit Awards and three Grammy Awards. Lipa worked as a model before v ...

)) *'' Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant'' (Madame Truska (

Salma Hayek Salma Valgarma Hayek Pinault ( , ; ; born September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa (1989 TV series), Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well a ...

)) *'' Wonka'' (The Countess (

Sophie Winkleman Sophie Lara Winkleman (born 5 August 1980), styled as Lady Frederick Windsor, is a British actress. She is married to Lord Frederick Windsor, the son of Prince Michael of Kent and second cousin of King Charles III. Early life Sophie Lara Win ...

))

Animation

*''

The Addams Family The Addams Family is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panel comics, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' between 193 ...

'' (Margaux Needler) *''

The Lorax ''The Lorax'' is a children's literature, children's book written by Dr. Seuss and published in 1971. It chronicles the plight of the Biophysical environment, environment and the Lorax, the main character, who "speaks for the trees" and confront ...

'' (Mrs. Wiggins) *''

Mary and Max Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

'' (Vera Lorraine Dinkle) *''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

'' (

Eric Cartman Eric Theodore Cartman, commonly referred to as just Cartman, is a fictional character in the adult animated sitcom ''South Park'', created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. He is voiced by Parker, and is one of the series' four main characters, ...

) *'' A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures'' (Vera)

Bibliography

* (2007, Goma Books), * ''I Love Sweden'' (2008, Goma Books), * (2010, Kodansha),

Championships and accomplishments

( 1 time) :*

(

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) :*

KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling championship owned by the DDT Pro-Wrestling promotion. Meant for teams of five wrestlers, the title is believed to be the first of its kind in professional wrestling. The title was first announced on April 30, 201 ...

( 1 time) – with

Ken Ohka is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for the Japanese professional wrestling promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). Professional wrestling career Dramatic Dream Team (2001-present) Ohka made his professional wrestling debut on Dram ...

Ladybeard Richard Magarey is an Australian stuntman, professional wrestler, singer and online streamer, known for his bearded crossdressing persona named . He is currently vocalist of the band Babybeard, formerly with the band Ladybaby and Deadlift Lolit ...

Makoto Oishi is a Japanese professional wrestler working for Dramatic Dream Team (DDT). Oishi started his career in Kaientai Dojo, where he became a Strongest-K Tag Team, Independent World Junior Heavyweight and UWA World Middleweight Champion, at one ti ...

and

Super Sasadango Machine is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name and is working for the Japanese professional wrestling promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). Professional wrestling career Dramatic Dream Team/DDT Pro Wrestling (2002–present) S ...

References

External links

Official agency profile

Official blog
* {{Authority control Sportspeople from Stockholm Swedish expatriates in Japan Japanese women television personalities Japanese film critics Living people 1970 births Swedish female professional wrestlers Japanese female professional wrestlers Swedish people of Japanese descent Japanese people of Swedish descent 21st-century female professional wrestlers DDT Extreme Champions Ironman Heavymetalweight Champions KO-D 8-Man/10-Man Tag Team Champions