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Karen Fukuhara

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Karen Fukuhara
Fukuhara in 2022
Born (1992-02-10) February 10, 1992 (age 32)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
EducationUniversity of California, Los Angeles (BA)
OccupationActress
Years active2013–present

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

Early life and education

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Fukuhara was born to Japanese parents in Los Angeles.[3] Her first language was Japanese, and she attended a 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] She is a lifetime fan of the Pokémon franchise and enjoyed playing her Game Boy growing up.[4]

Fukuhara attended University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) while working as a reporter for a sports show on NHK in Japan. She was a part of the Cultural Affairs Commission. [3][5] She was a member of the a cappella group Medleys, whose alumni include fellow actress Kelly Marie Tran.[6][7] Fukuhara graduated from UCLA in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a minor in Theater.[6][7]

Career

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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][6]

Before her acting debut, Fukuhara worked various part-time jobs, including 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.[8][9] Although she had martial arts experience, Fukuhara trained for about two months to learn to wield a sword.[1]

In 2019, Fukuhara appeared in Stray, alongside Christine Woods, Miyavi, and Ross Partridge.[10]

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.[11]

In 2019, she began starring as Kimiko Miyashiro / The Female in the Amazon Prime series The Boys, based on the comic book of the same name.[12]

In 2020, she voiced the titular lead character of Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts,[13] a series based on the short-lived webcomic Kipo.

In 2023, Netflix announced that Fukuhara would voice Haru, the titular character of Pokémon Concierge.[14]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2016 Suicide Squad Tatsu Yamashiro / Katana
2017 The Lost Laura Baker Short
2019 Stray Nori
2020 Bobbleheads: The Movie Ikioi (voice) Direct-to-DVD
2022 Bullet Train Kayda Izumi Concession Girl
2023 The Boy and the Heron Lady Himi (voice) English Dub[15]
Craig Before the Creek Alexis (voice) TV movie
TBA Stone Cold Fox Minx Post-production

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2018–2020 She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Glimmer (voice)[16] Series regular; 48 episodes
2018–2024 Craig of the Creek Sewer Queen, Alexis (voice) Recurring; 21 episodes
2019–present The Boys Kimiko Miyashiro / The Female[17] Series regular; 29 episodes
2020 Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts Kipo Oak (voice) Lead role; 30 episodes
2021 Star Wars: Visions F (voice) Short film: The Village Bride (English Dub)[18]
Archer Reiko (voice) Episode: "Dingo, baby, et cetera"
2022 Modern Love Tokyo Tamami (voice) Episode: "He's Playing Our Song" (English Dub)
2023 Pokémon Concierge Haru (voice) Series regular; 4 episodes (English Dub)
2024 Alice's Wonderland Bakery Sakura (voice) Episode: "Dance of the Cherry Blossoms"
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft Sam Nishimura (voice) Episode: "A Single Step"

Video games

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Year Title Voice role Notes
2022 The Callisto Protocol Dani Nakamura [19]

Commercials

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Year Title Voice role Notes
2021 Taco Bell: Nacho Fries — Fry Force Rei [20]

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Regensdorf, Laura (August 5, 2016). "Meet Karen Fukuhara, Suicide Squad's Karate-Trained Breakout Star". Vogue. Archived from the original on August 15, 2020. 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. Archived from the original on November 5, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e Nguyen, Minh (August 1, 2016). "Karen Fukuhara Talks 'Suicide Squad,' Katana, and 'Dora the Explorer'". NBC News (Interview). Archived from the original on July 17, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  4. ^ "Talking Pokémon Concierge at Los Angeles Comic Con". Nintendo Supply. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  5. ^ "Young Superstar Karen Fukuhara Joins Suicide Squad with a Mission". Mochi Magazine. November 4, 2016. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c "Next Big Thing: 'Suicide Squad's' Karen Fukuhara Explains Her Tattoo From Margot Robbie". The Hollywood Reporter. July 26, 2016. Archived from the original on July 27, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Karen Fukuhara '14 |". Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Hipes, Patrick (December 2, 2016). "Christine Woods, 'Suicide Squad's Karen Fukuhara & More Join 'Sleight' Team's 'Stray'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  11. ^ Petski, Denise (May 18, 2018). "'She-Ra And the Princesses Of Power': Aimee Carrero, Karen Fukuhara, Sandra Oh Among Voice Cast". Deadline. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  12. ^ Petski, Denise (March 21, 2018). "'The Boys': 'Suicide Squad's Karen Fukuhara Cast In Amazon's Superhero Drama Series". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  13. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (December 12, 2019). "'Kipo And The Age Of Wonderbeasts': Karen Fukuhara, Sterling K. Brown, Dan Stevens And More Set For Animated Series". Deadline. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  14. ^ Mateo, Alex (November 14, 2023). "Pokémon Concierge Stop-Motion Animated Series' English Trailer Reveals Theme Song, December 28 Premiere". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  15. ^ Wu, Valerie (October 17, 2023). "Hayao Miyazaki's 'The Boy and the Heron' Announces English Voice Cast: Christian Bale, Florence Pugh and Robert Pattinson to Star". Variety. Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  16. ^ "She-Ra gets a makeover! A first look at the new Netflix series and meet the cast". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 5, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  17. ^ Petski, Denise (March 21, 2018). "'The Boys': 'Suicide Squad's Karen Fukuhara Cast In Amazon's Superhero Drama Series". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  18. ^ "Stunning New Star Wars: Visions Trailer Debuts". StarWars.com. August 17, 2021. Archived from the original on August 17, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  19. ^ "'THE CALLISTO PROTOCOL' CREATOR SAYS IT'S WAY SCARIER THAN 'DEAD SPACE'". July 1, 2022. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  20. ^ "Taco Bell's 'Fry Force' Is About One Thing: Hope". Muse by Clio. July 27, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  21. ^ https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210516005016/en/Karen-Fukuhara-Receives-an-IMDb-STARmeter-Award-at-Identity-2021-Celebrating-Asian-Pacific-American-Heritage-Month [bare URL]
  22. ^ "The 2023 Hollywood Creative Alliance (HCA) TV Astra Award Winners". January 9, 2024.
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