Naoko Mori

Born in Nagoya, Japan, on November 19, 1971, actress Naoko Mori had a well-traveled childhood, as her family moved first to New Jersey, when she was four years old, and then to Surrey, just outside London, eight years later. When her father opted to move back to Japan, when Mori was in high school, she opted to stay in England and seek stage work, which she quickly found earning the lead role in the West End production of "Miss Saigon." By the early 1990s, Mori had made her way onto British television with roles on the sitcom "Desmond's" and the hospital drama "Casualty." Before long, she broke into film with roles in the computer-geared drama "Hackers," the Spice Girls movie "Spice World," and Mike Leigh's colorful docudrama, "Topsy-Turvy." A number of film and television roles followed, including Sarah on the cult comedy series "Absolutely Fabulous." In 2005, Mori hosted "Hot Tub Ranking," a game show where men would rank female contestants by their looks, and if the women can properly guess their ranks, they would win cash prizes. The following year, Mori ditched being a TV personality in favor of playing Toshiko Sato on the science fiction series "Torchwood," a spin-off of the long-running sci-fi mainstay "Doctor Who." An avid fan base has made Sato Mori's most popular character to date. After her Sato's story arc came to an end, Mori went on to portray Yoko Ono in the made-for-TV biopic "Lennon Naked."