["Person Information: Phongchi"](_blank)
'' Naver Person Search'' is a
Japanese idol
An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese popular culture, Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in other performance skills such as acting, dancing, and modeling. Idol ...
of
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...
descent. Often dubbed "Idoling No. 8", she is a former member of Japanese all-girl idol group
Idoling. She was one of original members and had been the most popular member of the group.
["if : My Little Sister, Phongchi"](_blank)
'' Amazon.co.jp'' She also does
glamour modeling as a
gravure idol
A model is a person with a Role (disambiguation), role either to display commercial product (business), products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as an Model (art), artist's model.
Modelling ("modeling" in British and ...
, having released two
photobooks and five DVDs since 2008.
Career
Phongchi was born in 1990 in
Hiratsuka, Kanagawa
260px, Hiratsuka City Hall
is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 257,316 and a population density of 3800 persons per km². The total area of the city is .
Geography
Hiratsuka is located in the Sh� ...
to Vietnamese immigrant parents who came from
Saigon
Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025.
The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...
,
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...
. Phongchi participated in an audition, the ''SMA Teens Audition'', held by
Sony Music Artists
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (imaging and sensing), S ...
in 2005, becoming the runner up. She joined
Idoling as an original member in 2006.
She began to be known as the "protégé" of
Sayuri Kokusho, a seasoned actress known formerly as "
Onyanko No. 8", and began appearing on numerous non-Idoling television shows in late 2007. She released her first photobook titled ''Fon Fonchi'' in September 2008 and first DVD titled ''Cam On : Precious Time'' in October 2008.
Her second DVD ''A Letter From a Teen'' was shot in
Okinawa
most commonly refers to:
* Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture
* Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture
* Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself
* Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...
and released in September 2009. Her second photobook ''Ritual Heart'' was shot in
Bali
Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
and released in March 2010. Her third DVD ''F : Angel's Wing'' was also shot in Bali and released in March 2010, and fourth DVD ''if : My Little Sister'' was released in November 2010.
In September 2010 she made her first Vietnam-related appearance at the annual ''Vietnam Festival'' event took place at the
Yoyogi Park
is a park in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. It is located adjacent to Harajuku Station and Meiji Shrine in Yoyogikamizonochō. The park is a popular Tokyo destination, especially on Sundays when it is used as a gathering place for Japanese rock music ...
in
Shibuya
is a Special wards of Tokyo, 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 230,60 ...
, Tokyo. She appeared in the event as its main host, along with several guests from Vietnam including famous Vietnamese artists as Ho Quynh Huong and Nam Cuong. Again, she worked as the host for the ''Vietnam Festival 2011'' (September 17–18) where the guests again include Ho Quynh Huong.
Phongchi graduated from Idoling in December 2011 to start a career in acting, alongside "Idoling No. 7"
Erika Yazawa who would later become a comedian. She released her fifth DVD ''Kaleidoscope'' in January 2012. It was her first DVD after leaving Idoling, where she dressed in costumes such as those inspired by
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...
.
Weight-loss obsession
Phongchi always talks about her weight and weight-loss plan whenever she is interviewed. She was a member of Idoling's ''Pocchari Dohmei'' ("Axis of Chubby"), a team consisting of the three heaviest members in the group,
["Popular idol from Idoling Phongchi releases her first DVD"](_blank)
''ASCII
ASCII ( ), an acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange, is a character encoding standard for representing a particular set of 95 (English language focused) printable character, printable and 33 control character, control c ...
'' October 28, 2008 along with
Erika Yazawa and Erika Tonooka. She has weighed up to 48 kg (105 lb) at 1.65m (5 ft 5 in),
[''Yanyan Vol.6'', Ryoran Report (p.34) May 2009 ()] and she has stated that she considers herself overweight and has always been dieting. She said about it, "I can't announce my weight until I have a decent weight". She has stated that she has idolized the actress
Risa Goto and especially the famous model
Emi Suzuki
,[Archived copy](_blank)
also called Emichee (えみちぃ), is a Japanese model and retired occasional actress. She debute ...
, whose
BMIs have been reported to be less than 14.
She has revealed that she has a strong addiction to Caramel Frappuccino, a Starbucks beverage which often appears on her blog. There are about 247 kcal in one Caramel Frappuccino bottle and she drinks it twice a day. This can be one reason why she struggles so much with her weight, but she has stated that she could not live without it.
Personal life
Aside from her native Japanese,
Phongchi is also fluent in Vietnamese. Her first DVD ''Cam On'' featured her conversations with native Vietnamese-speaking children.
[Ameba Entertainment News 4 November 2008](_blank)
'' Ameba''
She is known as a hardcore gamer, more specifically, a hardcore PS3 player. One time she played ''
Demon's Souls
is a 2009 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It was released in Japan in February 2009, in North America by Atlus in October 2009, and in PAL territories by Na ...
'' in her room for about 20 hours straight, skipping an appearance on the Idoling show. She is also a wrestling fan, specifically a
Dragon Gate fan and has several wrestling game titles.
As for fashion, in her personal life, she did not show any preference in the 2000s, but since around 2010 when she turned 20 she has shown a strong preference for the
Ageha
ageHa (also as 'AGH') was a weekend club event in Tokyo, Japan. It was held on Friday and Saturday at the Usen Studio Coast event space in the Shin-Kiba district, which also hosted live concerts and other events. The word ''Ageha'' is Japanese fo ...
style which does not fit her vibrant "
idol
Idol or Idols may refer to:
Religion and philosophy
* Cult image, a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents
* Murti, a devotional image of a deity or saint used during puja ...
" image.
On August 8, 2022, she announced her marriage and pregnancy of her first child.
Releases
Photobooks
*''Fon Fon Chi'', September 5, 2008
*''Ritual Heart'', March 12, 2010
DVDs
*''Cam on'', October 22, 2008
*''10-dai Kara no Tegami'' (A Letter from a Teen), September 30, 2009
*''F : Angel's Wing'', March 19, 2010
*''if : Boku no Imoto'' (if : My Little Sister), November 27, 2010
*''Kaleidoscope'', January 25, 2012
Filmography
Film
*''Tokyo MER: Mobile Emergency Room – The Movie'' (2023)
*''Tokyo MER: Mobile Emergency Room – The Movie 2'' (2025)
Television
*''MIU404'' (Ep. 5) (2020)
*''Tokyo MER: Mobile Emergency Room'' (2021)
[
]
References
External links
Official profile by Sony Music *She has already retired from SMA and is currently working freelance.
Official Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phongchi
Japanese gravure models
Japanese idols
Japanese women pop singers
1990 births
Japanese women television personalities
Actresses from Kanagawa Prefecture
Living people
Japanese people of Vietnamese descent
Models from Kanagawa Prefecture
People from Hiratsuka, Kanagawa
Idoling!!! members
Singers from Kanagawa Prefecture
Expatriate television personalities in Japan
21st-century Japanese actresses