Hey guys...here's a recent writeup on the world's #1 most loveable girl!!!
I know this article has been posted before...but the pics are new to me.
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By Chris Betros (Metropolis Girl on the go Issue #656)
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Photos By Tsutomu Fujita
Itfs been a busy year for Aya Ueto. The 21-year-old singer-actress has already starred in two television series, is filming another in Shanghai, has just released a Best of Aya Ueto CD, and has appeared in numerous TV commercials and at various promotional events. Now she is getting ready for gTaiyo no Funeh in January, a live spectacle at Tokyo Dome based on the life of fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto.
Ueto is cheerful and energetic as she sits down for her first interview with English media. Show business was the last thing on her mind when she was a little girl growing up in Tokyofs Nerima Ward. gI wanted to be a pre-school teacher,h she says. gI grew up in a danchi (public housing complex) with lots of families and children, so I got a lot of energy from the community.h
Although she never finished school, Ueto feels she made the right decision. gI didnft even have time to sleep, and it was getting really hard having both a full-time career and school, so I eventually had to quit school,h she says. gI donft know about going to college. I think I would rather get a child care license. Right now, Ifm more passionate about expanding my interests and hobbies, for example, being able to speak English.h
Ueto got her start in 1997 when she won the Special Jury Prize at the All-Japan Bishojo Club (a contest whose winners go into the modeling and celebrity worlds). Guest appearances on TV variety shows such as Matthewfs Best Hit followed. For a while, Ueto opted for a music career, forming a pop band called Z-1, but by 2001, TV and advertising work proved more lucrative. She won critical acclaim for her portrayal of a student with gender identity disorder in the TV drama 3-Nen B-gumi Kinpachi-sensei. Her big-screen success came as the title character in the 2003 film Azumi, a period drama based on a violent, erotic Japanese manga, with Ueto starring as a young woman raised from birth with nine other orphans, to become an assassin.
Ueto says she approaches each project in the same manner. gWhen I first read the script, I usually get a general vision of what my character is going to be like but when I actually start acting, I wonder what is really being asked of me. What does the director desire, and what sort of picture is he searching for? With singing, I wonder what kind of genre my fans are hoping Ifll sing. Ifm not really good at coming up with the answers to these questions myself, so I usually ask people around me. I try to be closer to the vision that many people have for me. Likewise, I feel most satisfied when someone comes up and says the role was perfect for me.h
Uetofs commercials, among them Otsuka vitamin drinks (in which she appeared with South Korean heartthrob Bae Yon Joon), Softbank, Daihatsu, Lotte, JTB, Kikkoman and Aoki, make her one of the most recognized faces on TV. gWe usually shoot commercials in a day. Theyfre great fun to do, and I get to meet people I would never meet otherwise,h she says.
Over the years, Ueto has attracted a huge fan base, many of whom write to her blog. gThe girls are usually elementary to high school students, but men in their twenties to forties write me a lot. If a message really touches my heart, I write back. When I read a letter that tells me Ifm needed in some way, I answer it. Sometimes I try to meet fans at hospitals.h Ueto says shefs not very good with computers and doesnft even own one. She writes her blog material and her staff takes care of it for her.
Maintaining privacy is always an issue for celebrities. Ueto is no exception. gI wish I could go on trips and walk the streets like anyone else,h she says. gIn summer I wear a hat and in winter a scarf, but people still come up and ask for photos. I generally decline requests to take a photo with them, but I try to sign autographs. Therefs no place I feel more uncomfortable than a trendy, glitzy place with lots of people. I prefer a quiet place with less people.h
Some days can be overwhelming for Ueto, but she never seems to lose her energy. Leisure time is a rarity. gWhen I do get a day off, I usually need a massage.
I was playing tennis every day for a while when I was making a TV drama. I try to exercise up to 40 minutes a day. And I think I get a lot of stamina from eating natto. I eat it every day for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I love to eat. Ifm lucky because I donft ever feel really hungry or full; I can eat as much as I want all the time. But Ifm not much of a cook. Itfs probably been about a year since I started. I couldnft even hold a knife before then.h
So what does the future hold? While she is known to foreign movie fans from Azumi, Ueto says she is not ready to try her luck in Hollywood. gI need to accomplish much more in Japanese films, and I have a lot to learn in Japanese TV dramas and acting here first. Theyfre on an entirely different level over there, so Ifm not that confident. Maybe when I am 30 or 40. Hopefully, by then I will have a family.h
Which brings us to her ideal man. gI like a serious man with integrity toward others, his work, children and even his pet; someone who doesnft change his sense of self at all times,h she answers. gI generally go for a guyfs personality rather than his looks.h