Karen Fukuhara

Karen Fukuhara (born February 10, 1992)[1][2] is an American actress of Japanese origin, best known for her roles as Tatsu Yamashiro / Katana in the 2016 superhero film Suicide Squad and as Kimiko Miyashiro in the Amazon Prime original series The Boys (2019–present). Fukuhara is also known for voicing the character Glimmer from the Netflix series She-Ra and the Princesses of Power and Kipo from Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts.

Karen Fukuhara
Fukuhara at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con
Born (1992-02-10) February 10, 1992
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
EducationUniversity of California, Los Angeles (BA)
OccupationActress
Years active2016–present

Early life and education

Fukuhara was born to Japanese parents in Los Angeles.[3] Her first language was Japanese, and she attended Japanese language school on Saturdays for 11 years.[1][3] She has a younger brother.[1] Fukuhara began practicing karate in middle school[1] and became a brown-striped belt before leaving for college.[1]

Fukuhara attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) while working as a reporter for a sports show on NHK in Japan.[3][4] She was a member of the a cappella group Medleys, whose alumni include fellow actress Kelly Marie Tran.[5][6] Fukuhara graduated from UCLA in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a minor in Theater.[5][6]

Career

Fukuhara got her start in the entertainment industry in middle school when she was cast as a host for Movie Surfers, a short form entertainment news program on the Disney Channel.[3][5]

Prior to her acting debut, Fukuhara worked various part-time jobs, including as a translator, subtitle editor, and waitress at a reggae-themed sushi restaurant.[3]

In 2016, Fukuhara made her film debut as Katana in the DC Comics superhero film Suicide Squad, which was released in August 2016.[7][8] Although she had prior martial arts experience, with a brown striped belt in karate, Fukuhara trained for about two months during pre-production in order to learn how to wield a sword correctly.[1]

In early December 2016, Fukuhara announced that she had completed the first week of filming for Stray (alongside Christine Woods, Miyavi, and Ross Partridge).[9]

Fukuhara voiced the characters Sewer Queen and Alexis in the Cartoon Network series Craig of the Creek. In 2018, she began voicing Glimmer in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, a reboot of the 1985 animated television series.[10]

In 2019, she began starring as The Female in the Amazon Prime series The Boys, based on the comic book of the same name.[11]

In 2020, she began voicing the lead character of Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Kipo Oak.[12] The series is based on the short-lived webcomic named Kipo.

Filmography
Films
Year Title Role Notes
2016 Suicide Squad Tatsu Yamashiro / Katana
2017 Stray Nori
2017 The Lost Laura Baker Short
2020 Bobbleheads: The Movie Ikioi (voice) Direct-to-DVD
TBA Bullet Train Filming
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2018–present Craig of the Creek Sewer Queen, Alexis (voice) Recurring; 11 episodes episodes
2018–2020 She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Glimmer (voice)[13] Series regular; 48 episodes
2019–present The Boys Kimiko Miyashiro / The Female[14] Series regular; 13 episodes
2020 Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts Kipo Oak (voice) Lead role; 30 episodes

References
  1. Regensdorf, Laura (August 5, 2016). "Meet Karen Fukuhara, Suicide Squad's Karate-Trained Breakout Star". Vogue. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  2. Andrea, Mandell; Truitt, Brian; Alexander, Bryan (February 15, 2017). "Attention, Hollywood: It's time to give these 11 Asian stars their due". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  3. Nguyen, Minh (August 1, 2016). "Karen Fukuhara Talks 'Suicide Squad,' Katana, and 'Dora the Explorer'". NBC News (Interview). Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  4. "Young Superstar Karen Fukuhara Joins Suicide Squad with a Mission". Mochi Magazine. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  5. "Next Big Thing: 'Suicide Squad's' Karen Fukuhara Explains Her Tattoo From Margot Robbie". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  6. "Karen Fukuhara '14 |". Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  7. Hawkes, Rebecca (May 26, 2015). "Suicide Squad: everything you need to know". telegraph.co.uk. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on June 6, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  8. Trumbore, Dave (July 11, 2015). "Suicide Squad Cast Reveals First Trailer At Comic-Con". Collider. Archived from the original on July 12, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  9. Hipes, Patrick (2 December 2016). "Christine Woods, 'Suicide Squad's Karen Fukuhara & More Join 'Sleight' Team's 'Stray'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  10. Petski, Denise (2018-05-18). "'She-Ra And the Princesses Of Power': Aimee Carrero, Karen Fukuhara, Sandra Oh Among Voice Cast". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  11. Petski, Denise (2018-03-21). "'The Boys': 'Suicide Squad's Karen Fukuhara Cast In Amazon's Superhero Drama Series". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  12. Ramos, Dino-Ray (2019-12-12). "'Kipo And The Age Of Wonderbeasts': Karen Fukuhara, Sterling K. Brown, Dan Stevens And More Set For Animated Series". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  13. "She-Ra gets a makeover! A first look at the new Netflix series and meet the cast". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  14. Petski, Denise (March 21, 2018). "'The Boys': 'Suicide Squad's Karen Fukuhara Cast In Amazon's Superhero Drama Series". Deadline. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
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