Naomi Watanabe (渡辺 直美, Watanabe Naomi, born 23 October 1987) is a Japanese comedian, actress, and fashion designer. She rose to fame in 2008 for her imitation of Beyoncé, after which she was given the title "the Japanese Beyoncé".[1][2][3]
Naomi Watanabe
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| 渡辺 直美 | |
Naomi Watanabe in 2010
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| Born | Naomi Watanabe (1987-10-23) 23 October 1987 (age 36) |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, comedian, fashion designer |
| Years active | 2007 (2007)–present |
| Height | 1.57 m (5 ft 2 in) |
| Musical career | |
| Genres |
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| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Labels | |
Watanabe does impersonations of popular artists in Japanese culture, among which her imitation of Beyoncé singing "Dreamgirls" and "Crazy in Love" quickly became popular. She has also launched her own fashion line called Punyus (loosely translated to "chubby" in English), and played the role of Mabel in the musical Fame and Tracy Turnblad in the musical Hairspray. Her Instagram account has 9.9 million followers as of 23 February 2023.[4]
Watanabe was seen as a guest in the 2013 anime movie Crayon Shin-chan: Very Tasty! B-class Gourmet Survival!!.[5] In 2016, she voiced the character of Ashima in the Japanese language dub of the Thomas & Friends film The Great Race.[6] In 2019, she was featured in Queer Eye: We're in Japan!, Season 1, Episode 3, "The Ideal Woman".[7]
In March 2021 she announced her intention to move from Japan to the United States the next month.[8] She has appeared in Us Weekly magazine.[9]
Watanabe was born in Taipei to a Japanese father and a Taiwanese mother and raised in Ibaraki.[10] She is of Japanese and Taiwanese descent.[11][12]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPN Hot 100[A] | |||
| "Kira Kira (キラキラ)"
(Ai featuring Naomi Watanabe) |
2017 | 19 | Wa to Yo |
| "Kiss Me More"[14]
(Doja Cat featuring Naomi Watanabe) |
2022 | — | Non-album single |
| "—" denotes items that did not chart. | |||
| Year | Title | Network | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–14 | Waratte Iitomo! | Fuji TV | ||
| 2011 | Saturday Night Live Japan | Fuji TV | ||
| 2023 | Takeshi's Castle (2023) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Tug of War! | |||
| 2013 | R100 | |||
| 2018 | Sunny: Our Hearts Beat Together | Ume | ||
| 2020 | The Untold Tale of the Three Kingdoms | Diaochan | [15] | |
| The Promised Neverland | Krone | [16] |
| Year | Title | Role | Network | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Deka Wanko | NTV | |||
| Yūsha Yoshihiko | TV Tokyo | ||||
| 2014 | A Time of Love | TVB Jade | |||
| 2016 | The Hiddens | Astro Wah Lai Toi | |||
| 2019 | Queer Eye | Guest | Netflix | ||
| 2020 | Followers | Netflix |
| Year | Title | Role | Type | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Sazae-san | TV | |||
| 2013 | Crayon Shin-chan: Very Tasty! B-class Gourmet Survival!! | Film | |||
| 2015 | Chibi Maruko-chan: A Boy from Italy | Film | |||
| 2020 | Doraemon: Nobita's New Dinosaur | Natalie | Film | [17] | |
| 2021 | Sailor Moon Eternal | Zirconia | 2-Part film, Season 4 of Sailor Moon Crystal |
[18] | |
| 2022 | Deemo: Memorial Keys | Sachet | Film | [19] |
| Year | Title | Role | Voice dub for | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb | Tilly | Rebel Wilson | [20] | |
| 2015 | Pixels | Serena Williams | [21] | ||
| 2016 | Ghostbusters | Dr. Abigail L. "Abby" Yates | Melissa McCarthy | [22] | |
| 2018 | I Feel Pretty | Renee Bennett | Amy Schumer | ||
| 2022 | Ghostbusters: Afterlife | Gozer / Mini Marshmallow Man | [23] | ||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Thomas & Friends: The Great Race | Ashima | ||
| 2017 | Coco | Frida Kahlo | [24] | |
| 2022 | Minions: The Rise of Gru | Master Chow | [25] |
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