Ayumi Hamasaki

Date of Birth

2 October 1978, Fukuoka, Japan

Nickname

Ayu

Height

5' 1" (1.55 m)

Mini Biography

Ayumi Hamasaki was still an infant when her father left the family in their home town of Fukuoka, and she was raised by her mother and grandmother. At age seven she began modeling to earn money for her family. At 14 the family moved to Tokyo so Ayumi could pursue an acting and modeling career. She got small roles in several minor films and a little TV work, but she didn't particularly like acting, and was considered too small to have much of a future in modeling, so she left both fields, and for good measure dropped out of high school. Her time was spent mostly shopping and partying, until one night a friend took her to a karaoke club, where she was persuaded to get up and sing. The club was owned by a major record label, and a producer for that label happened to be in the club that night, heard her sing and offered her a contract. At first she turned him down, but he persisted, and the next year she agreed to at least take singing lessons. She didn't like them either, and wound up missing most of them. The label then sent her to New York for lessons; this time she found that she enjoyed the experience and stayed there for three months. When she returned to Japan, her producer - impressed by the contents of several letters she had written to him from New York - suggested that she begin writing her thoughts down as songs. She began recording in early 1998, and her debut album A Song for XX topped the Oricon charts for 4 consecutive weeks. Her single "Love-Destiny" in 1999 was her first #1 single, and she has had at least one #1 single or album every year since. He fame as a singer has carried over into other entertainment media, and she is also one of the top spokesmodels in Japan, making commercials for Honda cars, among others. Her success at both singing and commercials have combined to make her the highest-paid entertainer in Japan.

IMDb Mini Biography By: frankfob2@yahoo.com

Mini Biography

Ayumi Hamasaki was born in Fukuoka Prefecture. She was raised by her mother and grandmother, because her father left the family when she was three years old.

Hamasaki started modeling for a local bank when she was seven years old to earn some money for her family.

When she was around fourteen years old, she traveled to Tokyo regularly to model and act. However, she was deemed too short to be a model and could not find much success with the movies she was cast in. She was eventually dropped by her talent agency.

Hamasaki wore short skirts, dyed her hair, fought with the teachers, and skipped school. She then proceeded to drop out of high school at the age of fifteen.

Despite an unsuccessful attempt at an album (now out of print) a few years later, she was discovered by chance at a nightclub.

Since her debut in 1998, she has sold around 45 million records worldwide, with the releases of her nine full-length studio albums, one mini-album, four compilation albums, over forty singles, and numerous non-studio albums.

IMDb Mini Biography By: starshapedshoes

Trivia

Grew up in a single parent home with mother and grandmother.

Is currently the highest earning entertainer in Japan (2002).

Spokesmodel of AUBE cosmetics.

Spokesmodel of HONDA.

Spokesmodel of KOSE cosmetics.

Spokesmodel of Lycos Japan.

Spokesmodel of MORIGANA (food company).

Spokesmodel of Takano Yuri Beauty Clinic.

Spokesmodel of TU-KA handsets.

Started modeling since age 7.

Was the first artist to have 4 singles on the Japan top 10 charts simultaneously.

Won MTV Asia's Best Female Artist Award (2002).

Female artist in Japan with the most units of singles sold: 17.4 million copies to date.

Big fan of Madonna.

She can write with left and right hands.

On January 4, 2008, according to her entry of her TeamAyu blog, Hamasaki revealed that she became completely deaf in her left ear and that is no longer operable. The cause of this may possibly be tinnitus or Meniere's Disease as she was diagnosed with this in 2006. Nevertheless, she decided to continue singing despite Avex experiencing a 13 Yen decrease in their stock prices.

Personal Quotes

"I like to try to view (those) experiences objectively, and put my honest feelings into words. If I write when I'm low, it will be a dark song, but I don't care. I want to be honest with myself at all times." - on writing her own lyrics to her songs