Nickname: Aachan, Kacchan
Born: April 8, 1986 in Nerima, Tokyo, Japan
Height: 160cm
Measurements : B83 W58 H86
Blood type: A
Profession: Actress, model and singer
Erika Sawajiri is half-japanese, having a Japanese father (death of illness) and an Algerian-French mother and is the youngest child of three brothers and sisters. Her name is derived from the flower's name. (Ericaceae's Erica)
Erika made her debut as a freelance teenage model before signing for Stardust (talent agency) after passing an audition in 1999. She entered the entertainment world because she wanted to meet her idol, Japanese pop star Namie Amuro.
Erika continued to work as a teenage model before making her TV debut in 2001 as a regular in a Japanese variety show. She extended her modelling career as a gravure idol (bikini model) at just about the same time.
Erika’s debut single was quite a hit and topped the Oricon chart. She released her 2nd single, “Free” in July 2007 using her name Erika, and hit the #1 spot on Oricon chart once again.
Erika’s booming entertainment career however suffered a setback in Sept 2007 when she was promoting her movie “Closed Note” in an official event, where she showed some nasty attitude.
Erika is currently taking a long break from her entertainment career; she left Japan for London in early January. Her future career plans remain uncertain.
In a country (Japan) where politeness is everything, her gimmick drew huge criticism from the public. The media and some celebrities had openly criticised her attitude, and some of her fans had showed no mercy with this issue as well.
