Biography
Tsuchiya Anna is a famous actress, model, and musician in Japan. Her career began in 1998 when she was 12, modelling for the Japanese version of the magazine "Seventeen" and other photographers. She continued to model for several other alternative fashion magazines after that, including Zipper, Soup, and the punk/goth/lolita magazine Kera.
In 2002, Anna teamed up with Kaz of Oblivion Dust and made Spin Aqua, the rock band for which Anna was vocallist. They released three singles and an album before disbanding due to Anna's sudden pregnancy announcement. In 2005 it was announced Anna would be releasing a single as a solo artist. As the date drew nearer, the single turned into a mini-album and fans everywhere rejoiced. Finally in late August, "Taste My Beat" was released. It included her cover of the theme song for Tru Calling, "Somebody Help Me", originally by Full Blown Rose. Anna's cover is also the theme for the Japanese version of the tv show.
Anna's acting career began in 2004 when she co-starred in the movie Shimotsuma Monogatari with Fukada Kyoko. It was this that made her most popular with fans, playing the thug Ichigo in the movie. She was also in Cha no Aji and starred in Ninagawa Mika's directorial debut Sakuran.
Not much is known about Anna's early years or family. Although, she was born to an American father, Anna has said she is not fluent in English although she sings English for many of her songs. She was also born to a Japanese mother in 1984 in Tokyo. Anna was married to fellow model Joshua in 2004; their baby boy was born in November 2004. However, in July 2006 the couple filed for divorce. (On a sidenote, Joshua died of heart failure on May 28th, 2008 - Anna was reportedly "devastated" after hearing the news.)
In 2006 it was announced that Anna would sing the opening song for the anime adaptation of the popular manga "NANA". As "ANNA inspi' NANA (Black Stones)", the song "rose" would be released in late June 2006 with two b-sides, one being the first track from her mini-album. This helped to double Anna's exposure with not only fans of her acting and solo career already, but fans of anime as well. She continued to release singles and albums for the NANA anime during its run and makes appearances in several magazines regularly. Certainly, Anna remains one of alternative fashion's most recognized icons, and she hasn't quit yet.
Information is from my own personal knowledge as well as bits of information from her Asian Wiki article.
