Shôko Aida

Aida Shooko was born in Higashimurayama in northern Tokyo, which is famous for the ancient Jizo hall in the temple of Shoofuku-ji. She was a member of the J-pop/cover version duo Wink from 1988 to 1996. Aida, and her band-mate Suzuki, had entered a beauty contest by the magazine Up To boy in 1987. Suzuki was first and Aida was a runner-up. Earlier and at school Aida had been scouted at Tokyo's Shibuya and received vocal lessons. Her mother had dreamt of becoming a singer herself so encouraged her daughter while her father was opposed. Aida became a teenage model. Her school had a rule against students becoming working entertainers. Wink did well for several years, but disbanded facing declining sales. Aida went on to become a solo artist, radio announcer and a TV personality. She had a travel program for Japanese TV in 1998. She was in a play called The Samurai I Loved. She married a doctor in 2008 and had a daughter in 2012. The daughter arrived early by two months. By now she had appeared in several prominent movies like Hana And Alice and Instant Numa. She was a cute, but desperate, stalker in Rainbow Song.