Takako Uehara (上原多香子)

Takako Uehara (上原多香子; born 1983-01-14 in Tomigusuku, Okinawa, Japan) is a Japanese singer, actress, and former radio host. Active since 1995, she entered the entertainment industry as a teenager. In August 1996, she debuted as a member of SPEED, the Okinawan J-pop group in which she handled dance and chorus. SPEED became one of Japan's major pop acts in the late 1990s. The group initially disbanded on 2000-03-31 and later reunited. Uehara began her solo career in 1999 with the single "my first love," which reached No. 1 on the Oricon chart and sold more than 500,000 copies. Her solo work remained rooted in J-pop and included "GLORY -Kimi ga Iru kara- (GLORY-君がいるから-)," the ending theme for One Piece. Alongside music, she built an acting career in film, television, and stage. In 1999, she was cast as the heroine of the film 『ドリームメーカー』 and received the newcomer award at the 23rd Japan Academy Prize alongside 辺土名一茶（ISSA）. She later appeared in the NHK morning drama 『てるてる家族』, made her stage debut in 『リトル・ショップ・オブ・ホラーズ』 in 2005, and took her first film lead in 『恋谷橋 La Vallee de l'amour』 in 2011. Uehara resumed entertainment activities in 2015.