(born on February 5, 1977, in

Takahata Yamagata Takahata Winery is a town located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 23,367, in 7629 households, and a population density of 130 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geography Takahata ...

Yamagata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It has a population of 1,005,926 (1 February 2025) and an area of 9,325 Square kilometre, km2 (3,600 Square mile, sq mi). Its neighbours are Akita Prefectu ...

, Japan) is a former Japanese bikini model and singer.

Career

She first started modeling in 1995, and became a "Visual Queen of the Year" at

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

for 1996. She was a frequent cover girl on Japanese bikini photo magazines in the late 1990s. She appeared in the advertising campaign for

Suntory (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and ...

's product. Aoki stopped modeling in 1998, and officially retired from modeling in 2000 to focus on a music career. In February 1998, Aoki held a healing music concert at Casals Hall, near

Ochanomizu Station is a railway station in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Tokyo subway operator Tokyo Metro. The station straddles the boundary between the Chiyoda and Bunkyō special wards; the JR station is in the former ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. In June 1999, she sought to raise money through her singing for the refugees in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

. On December 16, 2002, Aoki revealed a chocolate covered statue of

David Beckham Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham ( ; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, cross ...

to generate publicity. In 2003 she released an album titled ''Blue'' on the Universal Japan label. She is currently the lead vocalist for the band Icy Blue. She has been the cover model for (and subject of major articles in) nearly fifty issues of various magazines in Japan, including ''

Weekly Playboy , also known as or ''WPB'', is a Japanese weekly magazine published by Shueisha since 1966. Although the magazine publishes a variety of news and special interest articles, columns, celebrity interviews, and manga, it is considered an adult maga ...

s March 12, 1996 issue. Aoki started appearing for professional wrestling promotion Hustle in 2005, acting primarily as an announcer. In February 2006, Yuko got in a storyline in which she would audition for a full-time job in Hustle, but general manager

Hiroko Suzuki , née , (born 1974) is a Japanese people, Japanese politician, professional wrestling Manager (professional wrestling), valet, occasional professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter best known in the United States for her work wi ...

verbally attacked her and made her cry until

Wataru Sakata is a Japanese people, Japanese retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. A professional MMA competitor from 1994 until 2016, Sakata fought for Fighting Network RINGS, Pride FC, Deep (mixed martial arts), Deep a ...

came to her rescue. Aoki became Sakata's

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, ''valet de chambre'' was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "va ...

, and helped him to win a match against Hiroko's husband

Kenzo Suzuki is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), in Mexico with Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) and in the United States with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE ...

Private life

In 2010, she retired from the entertainment industry after getting married. After her retirement, while raising children, she worked at her parents' conveyor belt sushi restaurant in

Yonezawa Yonezawa City Hall is a city in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 81,707 in 33,278 households, and a population density of 150 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Yonezawa is most famous for i ...

References

External links

Yuko Aoki official site (in Japanese)
*
Yuko Aoki video from Japanese television program
* 1977 births Living people Japanese gravure idols Japanese women pop singers Japanese women television personalities Singers from Yamagata Prefecture 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese women singers {{model-stub