Naoko Mori facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Naoko Mori 森 尚子
Mori at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	(1971-11-29) 29 November 1971 (age 53) Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Education	Royal Russell School
Occupation	Actress, singer
Years active	1992–present
Notable work	Absolutely Fabulous Casualty Doctor Who Manchild Torchwood Spiceworld

Naoko Mori (森 尚子, Mori Naoko) (born 29 November 1971) is a Japanese actress who works in the United Kingdom. She is famous for playing Toshiko Sato in the TV shows Doctor Who and Torchwood. She also played Sarah in Absolutely Fabulous, Nicola in Spice World, and the mountain climber Yasuko Namba in the movie Everest.

Early Life and Education

Naoko Mori was born in Nagoya, Japan. Her mother was from the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, and her father was Japanese American. Because of her father's job, her family moved to New Jersey in the United States when she was four years old.

When she was ten, they moved back to Japan. Just two years later, they moved again, this time to London, England. When her parents had to move back to Japan, they gave Naoko a choice. She could go with them or stay in London by herself.

Naoko chose to stay in London. She wanted to finish her school exams, called GCSEs. Her father helped her set up a bank account and gave her a cheque book to find a small apartment. Mori has said that living alone at a young age was scary, but it helped her become very independent. She went to the Royal Russell School.

Acting Career

Mori at Comic Con in 2008

While she was still a student, Naoko auditioned for the famous musical Miss Saigon and got a part. She later played the lead role of Kim. This made her the first Japanese actress to have a main role in a big London musical.

Television Roles

From 1993 to 1994, Mori played the hospital receptionist Mie Nishikawa in the TV drama Casualty. She also appeared in many other popular shows, including Spooks (2002) and Mile High (2003).

In 2005, she appeared in the BBC show Hiroshima. This was a documentary that recreated the events of the atomic bombing in 1945.

Doctor Who and Torchwood

In 2005, Mori played a character named Dr. Sato in the Doctor Who episode "Aliens of London". The show's producer, Russell T Davies, liked her performance so much that he made her character a regular in the Doctor Who spin-off show, Torchwood.

Her character, Toshiko Sato, was a brilliant computer expert for the Torchwood team. Mori played Toshiko for two seasons. The character was very popular with fans. Even after her character left the TV show, Mori has continued to play Toshiko in Torchwood audio stories.

Movie and Stage Career

Mori has also acted in several movies. She played a Japanese computer expert in the movie Hackers (1995) and was in the musical comedy Spice World (1997).

In 2010, she played Yoko Ono, the wife of John Lennon, in the movie Lennon Naked. She acted alongside Christopher Eccleston, who played John Lennon. Eccleston was the same actor who played the Doctor in her first Doctor Who episode.

In 2015, Mori appeared in the adventure film Everest. She played Yasuko Namba, a real-life Japanese mountain climber. More recently, she played Lady Thiang in the musical The King and I in London in 2018.

Personal Life

Mori is a Japanese Buddhist. She has an older brother. She wanted to be a singer before she decided to become an actress. When she was a teenager, she lived by herself in a flat in London, which is when her acting career began to grow.

Selected Works

Mori has appeared in many films, TV shows, and video games. Here are some of her most well-known roles.

Film

Television

Video games

See also

In Spanish: Naoko Mori para niños