Momoe Miura, known by her maiden name Momoe Yamaguchi, is a Japanese former singer, actress, and idol whose career lasted from 1972 to 1980.
25 Facts About Momoe Yamaguchi
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Momoe Yamaguchi starred in 15 feature films and several television serial dramas.
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At age 21, Yamaguchi retired at the height of her popularity to marry her frequent costar, Tomokazu Miura; she has never performed or made a public appearance since.
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Momoe Yamaguchi was born on 17 January 1959 at Tokyo Metropolitan Hiroo Hospital in Ebisu, Shibuya, Tokyo.
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Momoe Yamaguchi's mother raised Momoe and her younger sister Toshie by herself.
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Toshie Yamaguchi studied in the US from partway through high school to college while Momoe made a life in Japan.
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Momoe Yamaguchi has a niece in the US whom she has never met.
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Momoe Yamaguchi began a career in show business while she was still a student in junior high school.
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Momoe Yamaguchi transferred to Shinagawa Joshi Gakuin, and then attended Hinode Joshi Gakuin High School, a school which allows its students to carry on careers in show business.
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Momoe Yamaguchi would continue to appear in this show every year until her retirement.
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Momoe Yamaguchi chose him because she liked his song "Secret Love", recorded by the Down Town Boogie Woogie Band.
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Momoe Yamaguchi held bogus "press conferences" unauthorized by either Yamaguchi or her management company, and in various ways disrupted her career.
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Since Momoe Yamaguchi was still a minor, he sued for the right of parental authority.
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Momoe Yamaguchi declared in her autobiographical book that she ended her relationship with her father, and would never acknowledge his existence again.
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Momoe Yamaguchi expressed the regret that if she had not become famous, this would not have happened.
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Momoe Yamaguchi accepted, and she said that she would retire from entertainment to marry him.
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Momoe Yamaguchi announced their relationship at a concert in October 1979, and the announcement about their marriage date and her retirement was made in March 1980.
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Billboard magazine stated in 1980 that the farewell concert by Momoe Yamaguchi was expected to gross $22.2 million.
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Momoe Yamaguchi performed the farewell concert at the Nippon Budokan on 5 October 1980, released her last album This is my trial on 21 October 1980, and released her last single "Ichie" on 19 November 1980.
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Momoe Yamaguchi wrote the lyrics to this song under the pen name "Kei Yokosuka", and continued to write a few songs for a while after retirement, such as Ann Lewis's La Saison from 1982.
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Momoe Yamaguchi stated that she wanted to stop working to devote all her time to the wellbeing of her husband.
22.
Momoe Yamaguchi said in an interview at the time of retirement that she did not want to continue working as a singer or an actress.
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On 15 October 1980, Momoe Yamaguchi officially retired from show business, and on 19 November 1980, the pair were married.
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Momoe Yamaguchi's family suffered considerable difficulty in attending school events due to television crews and photographers, who sometimes used deception to gain access.
25.
On television, most of Momoe Yamaguchi's appearances were in a series of dramas with Ken Utsui.