Audrie Kiko Daniel known professionally as Kiko Mizuhara, is an American-born model, actress, singer and designer who has lived in Japan since childhood.
Kiko Mizuhara started her modeling career at the age of twelve when she entered an audition contest for Seventeen magazine in which readers selected their favorite new face for the magazine. Later, she signed as a model under ViVi and MAQUIA magazine. Mizuhara had her acting debut in 2010 in Norwegian Wood and from that year on, she has been continuously appearing in the big screen and has been part of Japanese dramas and films. In 2011 and 2013, respectively, she was featured as a singer in Towa Tei‘s “The Burning Plain” and in M-Flo‘s “No Way” track from their Neven album. Mizuhara has collaborated with Opening Ceremony, and singers Rihanna and Beyoncé have worn her designs for the brand. In 2014, Mizuhara was listed among the Business of Fashion 500: The People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry.
Nick Name: Kiko, Kiko Mizuhara, Noriko Daniel
Years active: 2002–present
Born: October 15, 1990, 33 years old and 1 months, Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Sun Sign: Libra
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Dark Brown
Height: 5 ft 6 in / 168 cm
Measurements: 29.5-23.6-33.5 in / 75-60-85 cm
Bra size: 30A US / 65A EU
Genre: Electronic
Instrument: Vocals
Kiko Mizuhara
Kiko Mizuhara in RIDE OR DIE (2021)
Kiko Mizuhara in RIDE OR DIE (2021)
KIKO MIZUHARA AT THE HOTEL DU CAP EDEN-ROC DURING THE 71TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL IN ANTIBES (2018)
KIKO MIZUHARA SEXY WITH SOME FRIENDS AT THE HOTEL DU CAP EDEN-ROC DURING THE 71TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL IN ANTIBES (2018)
KIKO MIZUHARA SEXY WITH SOME FRIENDS AT THE HOTEL DU CAP EDEN-ROC DURING THE 71TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL IN ANTIBES (2018)
KIKO MIZUHARA SEXY WITH SOME FRIENDS AT THE HOTEL DU CAP EDEN-ROC DURING THE 71TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL IN ANTIBES (2018)
KIKO MIZUHARA SEXY WITH SOME FRIENDS AT THE HOTEL DU CAP EDEN-ROC DURING THE 71TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL IN ANTIBES (2018)
KIKO MIZUHARA SEXY WITH SOME FRIENDS AT THE HOTEL DU CAP EDEN-ROC DURING THE 71TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL IN ANTIBES (2018)
KIKO MIZUHARA AT THE HOTEL DU CAP EDEN-ROC DURING THE 71TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL IN ANTIBES (2018)
KIKO MIZUHARA WITH SOME FRIENDS AT THE HOTEL DU CAP EDEN-ROC DURING THE 71TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL IN ANTIBES (2018)
KIKO MIZUHARA WITH SOME FRIENDS AT THE HOTEL DU CAP EDEN-ROC DURING THE 71TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL IN ANTIBES (2018)
KIKO MIZUHARA WITH SOME FRIENDS AT THE HOTEL DU CAP EDEN-ROC DURING THE 71TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL IN ANTIBES (2018)
KIKO MIZUHARA WITH SOME FRIENDS AT THE HOTEL DU CAP EDEN-ROC DURING THE 71TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL IN ANTIBES (2018)
KIKO MIZUHARA WITH SOME FRIENDS AT THE HOTEL DU CAP EDEN-ROC DURING THE 71TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL IN ANTIBES (2018)
KIKO MIZUHARA AT THE HOTEL DU CAP EDEN-ROC DURING THE 71TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL IN ANTIBES (2018)
KIKO MIZUHARA WITH SOME FRIENDS AT THE HOTEL DU CAP EDEN-ROC DURING THE 71TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL IN ANTIBES (2018)
KIKO MIZUHARA WITH SOME FRIENDS AT THE HOTEL DU CAP EDEN-ROC DURING THE 71TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL IN ANTIBES (2018)
KIKO MIZUHARA AT THE HOTEL DU CAP EDEN-ROC DURING THE 71TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL IN ANTIBES (2018)
KIKO MIZUHARA WITH SOME FRIENDS AT THE HOTEL DU CAP EDEN-ROC DURING THE 71TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL IN ANTIBES (2018)
KIKO MIZUHARA WITH SOME FRIENDS AT THE HOTEL DU CAP EDEN-ROC DURING THE 71TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL IN ANTIBES (2018)
KIKO MIZUHARA AT THE HOTEL DU CAP EDEN-ROC DURING THE 71TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL IN ANTIBES (2018)
KIKO MIZUHARA WITH SOME FRIENDS AT THE HOTEL DU CAP EDEN-ROC DURING THE 71TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL IN ANTIBES (2018)
Kiko Mizuhara 032c magazine cover
Early life
Family
Father – Todd Daniel
Mother – Yae Toyama (English Teacher)
Siblings – Ashley Yuka Daniel / Yuka Mizuhara [ja] (sister) (Younger Sister) (Model)
Ethnicity
She has American father (who has English and possibly Scottish and German ancestry), while Kiko mother is Zainichi Korean. She was based in Nagasaki, Japan before she moved to USA temporarily and married Kiko father.
Mizuhara is the oldest of the two daughters of Song Pal-choong (better known by her Japanese alias Yae Toyama, née Mizuhara), a Zainichi Korean from Nagasaki, Japan, and Todd Mason Daniel, an American from Texas. She has a sister named Ashley Yuka Daniel who is 4 years younger than her who also works in the modeling industry under the name Yuka Mizuhara. Mizuhara moved to Tokyo at age 2 and then to Kobe, Japan, at age 3 with her family. When she was 13 years old, her parents divorced and her father moved back to the United States.
Career
Modeling
In 2002, Mizuhara participated in a contest and won an audition for fashion magazine Seventeen. At the audition, she was picked as Miss Seventeen and became an exclusive model for Seventeen for the next 3 years. At age 16, she moved to Tokyo alone, living separately from her mother and sister in Kobe to advance her career in modeling. In July 2007, Kiko Mizuhara became an exclusive model for fashion magazine ViVi.
Starting 2008 Kiko Mizuhara has been a regular runway model at the Tokyo Girls Collection. Her international runway debut was at The Paris Collections in Olympia Le Tan’s Spring/Summer 2014 Show. In the same year, Mizuhara was invited by British Fashion Designer Nasir Mazhar to walk for his S/S 2014 Collection at London Fashion Week and at Fashion Designer Jeremy Scott debut show for Moschino in Milan Fashion Week. Mizuhara was chosen to open and close the Fall/Winter 2014 Show of Sretsis, a Thai-brand clothing line, during the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Tokyo. She has also participated in Nicola Formichetti‘s first full collection show for Diesel in Venice, Italy. In 2017, Kiko Mizuhara walked for Alexander Wang (designer) S/S 2018 Ready-to-Wear collection at New York Fashion Week.
Aside from her runway experiences, Mizuhara has graced numerous magazine covers and features not only in Japan but also in Asia and Europe. She has appeared in major Vogue editorials for Vogue Japan, Vogue China, Vogue Taiwan, Vogue Italia, American Vogue, Vogue Girl Japan and L’Uomo Vogue. She has done covers and spreads for Nylon, Numero, Vivi, Seventeen, Grazia, GQ, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, L’Officiel, Maquia Gisele, V Magazine, Another Magazine, Dazed and Confused, Cosmopolitan, Dedicate Magazine, and Jalouse Magazine. Mizuhara has also shot ad campaigns for Diesel, Phillip Lim, Vivienne Tam, Reebok, Kitsuné, Tiffany & Co., Shiseido, etc. She was appointed as a Chanel ambassador. In 2012, Mizuhara was photographed by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel’s The Little Black Jacket campaign. In December 2013, Mizuhara participated in the Chanel Metiers d’Art Show in Dallas, Texas.
Mizuhara starred in the Marc Jacobs Eyewear 2017 ad campaign. In 2018, she was appointed as the first Asian ambassador for Dior. She was also welcomed into the Coach family in the same year.
Acting
Mizuhara co-starred in Tran Anh Hung‘s Norwegian Wood (2010) with Kenichi Matsuyama and Rinko Kikuchi. She played a supporting role in Mika Ninagawa‘s Helter Skelter (2012), which is based on the award-winning manga of the same name by Kyoko Okazaki. She has also played a supporting role in Toshiaki Toyoda‘s I’m Flash! (2012), and co-starred in Keishi Otomo’s Platinum Data with Kazunari Ninomiya. In addition to her films, Mizuhara played as a witch doctor in Trick The Movie: Last Stage (2014) where she spoke Bahasa as the movie was filmed in Kuching, Malaysia. In 2015, Mizuhara portrayed Mikasa Ackerman in the live action adaptation of Attack on Titan. In 2021, Mizuhara co-starred in the film Aristocrats, adapted from the novel Ano Ko wa Kizoku by Mariko Yamauchi.
Mizuhara has made her first small screen appearance in Japanese television series Yae no Sakura. In 2014, she starred in the drama Shitsuren Chocolatier. She was part of the main cast of the Japanese drama Kokoro ga Pokitto ne (Crazy For Me) in 2015.
Designing
Mizuhara started her collaboration with Opening Ceremony during Spring 2013 in celebration of the Opening Ceremony flagship store in Japan. The collection was inspired by 1920s Paris creating a collection of très jolies blouses, lingerie, and frilled short-shorts. In the same year, she entitled her fashionwear collection “Bad Girl of the 90s”, which included the famous pizza outfit worn by Beyoncé and other items she designed worn by Rihanna and other celebrities. Mizuhara has also produced a collection of headgear that blends Harajuku style with ’90s streetwear in collaboration with Opening Ceremony Japan and Harlem-based label Gypsy Sport. In 2014, Mizuhara launched her Spring/Summer “Girlfriend of the Rockstar” collection and the 1980s-inspired “Disco Bowling” collection was released for Fall/Winter. For Opening Ceremony Japan, Mizuhara collaborated with photographer Nobuyoshi Araki and designer Yoshikasu Yamagata for the opening of the brand’s first branch in Osaka, Japan.
Mizuhara teamed up with LA-based label UNIF in 2017 to launch a spring collection inspired by Mizuhara’s love of retro clothing, featuring a line-up of 90s pieces. Some items from this collection were worn by members of the KPOP group Blackpink in their music video for “As If It’s Your Last“. Other celebrities who have worn her items from this collection include Brown Eyed Girls members Ga-In and Sunmi.
In 2016, Mizuhara established Kiko Co.,Ltd. (commonly referred to as “Office Kiko”). The following year, she launched her own designer brand called “OK”. In its first year of operation, “OK” already landed several high-profile collaborations, creating fashion, art, and lifestyle products. In 2018, Office Kiko announced a new line of boots and shoes in collaboration with the Esperanza, a Japanese footwear company catering to young women.
Personal life
Mizuhara stated in an interview with NBC News that she has previously dated women, something that influenced her portrayal of Rei in Ride or Die.
As a Singer
Collaborated with Japanese Korean DJ Towa Tei in a digital single called The Burning Plain (2011).
First Film
A Japanese romantic drama based on Haruki Murakami novel called Norwegian Wood (2010) in which she played the role of Midori.
First TV Show
One episode appearance in the 50-episode TV series Yae No Sakura in 2013.
Kiko Mizuhara Favorite Things
Hang out Spot in Tokyo – Shinjuku Ni-chōme – gay town, The Komazawa Olympic Park
Shopping Venue – Harajuku, Shibuya, and Aoyama (in Tokyo)
Website – Style.com, Tumblr
Social Media App – Instagram
Ramen-type – Soy-sauce based, Osaka style ramen
Venue for Ramen Noodles – Kamukura in Shibuya
Guilty Pleasure – Late night hanging out with friends
Karaoke song – Plastic Love by Mariya Takeuchi, L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole
American TV Show – S*x and the City
American TV Characters – Charlotte and Miranda in S*x and the City
Passion – Buying and designing clothes
Hollywood Movie Character – Angelina Jolie in Gia
About Being an Actress – She feels happy when her audience gets emotional watching her character in any of her movies.
Films – Bound by The Wachowskis, Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki, Bridget Jones’ Diary by Sharon McGuire, Kids by Larry Clark, Fallen Angels by Wong Kar Wai
Fashion Inspiration – Kids, Street style
Actress – Chloe Sevigny
Clothing Item – High waist pants
Make-up Item – Red Lipstick
Korean Dishes – Grilled intestines (Gopchang), Oxtail soup (Seolleongtang).
Kiko Mizuhara Facts
Kiko parents relocated to Japan when she was 2 years old.
Growing up in Hyogo, Kobe, Japan Kiko felt embarrassed by her bi-racial ethnicity. She avoided speaking English for a long time to fit in among her school friends and asked her father not to visit her at school because he was blonde, blue-eyed and nearly 6’3” tall. He looked very different from the parents of her schoolmates.
Her nickname Kiko is inspired from the name of Princess Akishino who is also known as Princess Kiko but the last alphabet of Kiko name is spelled differently in Japanese as per a fortune teller advice.
Kiko started modeling at the age of 12 when her mother entered her in an audition for Seventeen magazine. She won the title of Miss Seventeen and along with it, a 3-year contract with the magazine.
Even though Kiko won a 3-year contract, she says that she was not first in the contest. Her name caught fame very gradually that allowed her to finish her schooling without any interruption.
As a child, Kiko was first influenced by fashion upon seeing several high-heeled, stylish women visit her mother for English language lessons.
Her parents got divorced when she was 13.
She speaks Japanese, English, and Korean.
Kiko Mizuhara is a stage name given to her by her mother to carve a professional identity, separate from her personal life.
Once embarrassed of her parent lineage, she finally embraced her unique identity when she moved to Tokyo at the age of 16 to pursue modeling full time where she realized being original is a strength.
She loves to dress up as famous celebrities (such as Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, and Madonna) for her birthday and Halloween every year.
No matter what country or big city Kiko visits, she looks for a gay club to hang out at first and foremost because she feels the safest at those places. She adds that gay clubs are also the best places to avoid attention.
Kiko would have pursued a career as a dancer, had she not been a model and actress.
Her residence in Tokyo is furnished only with vintage furniture and she fills her room with colorful candles and cushions.
She was officially credited as a designer when she collaborated with a Japanese store, Opening Ceremony in 2013.
Her first Fall/Winter collection as a designer was called, Bad Girl of the 90s (2013). It showcased the famous pizza outfit worn by Beyonce and another outfit that was worn by Rihanna.
Kiko would love to become a professional singer but she confesses she is not very good at it. One of her dreams on her wish list is to participate in the Fuji Rock festival.
While shooting for her debut movie role in Norwegian Wood (2010), Kiko confessed that she was constantly crying and depressed throughout the period as the director was very hard on her.
She has two tattoos on her body – a daisy on the left side of her midriff and a small heart behind her left ear.
Kiko is a cat person and owns two pet cats named, Ciccio and Bubu.
She first got a bob haircut to impress her then-boyfriend who had a crush on a leading movie actress with the same hairstyle. Even though she is no longer dating that guy, Kiko fans consider shoulder length bob as her signature style.
She is very fond of riding a kickboard also known as a micro-scooter in the Western countries.
Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube.