Miyoshi Umeki

Highest Rated: 82% Sayonara (1957)

Lowest Rated: 79% Flower Drum Song (1961)

Birthday: May 8, 1929

Birthplace: Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan

As a teenager in her native Japan, Miyoshi Umeki began her show business career as a singer and dancer. She often performed on radio programs and in nightclubs. In the 1950s, she attempted to translate that success in the USA, landing a spot on "Arthur Godfrey and His Friends," one of the many music-variety series then in vogue. In 1957, Umeki was cast as the Japanese woman who falls in love with an American soldier (Red Buttons) despite the US government's policy banning interracial marriage in "Sayonara." As the doomed bride, the beautiful actress offered a heart-breaking turn that earned her that year's Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress.

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