Miho Kanno

Biography

Miho Kanno (菅野 美穂, Kanno Miho; born August 22, 1977) is a Japanese actress and J-Pop singer. Her nicknames are Suga-chan (菅ちゃん) and Kanno-chan (カンノちゃん).

Career

Kanno was born in Isehara, Kanagawa, Japan on August 22, 1977. Growing up in Sakado, Saitama, she graduated from Shukutoku-yono High School and attended Shukutoku University, where she studied Communications. In 1992, during her third year at junior high school, Kanno made her debut as a member of a group called Sakurakko Club after passing the orientation for the television variety show Sakurakko Kurabu. As a member of the Sakura Gumi, she started to participate actively for the group's second single "DO-shite". Because the group was one that allowed its members to undertake their own individual endeavors, Kanno increased her level of work outside the variety show, while remaining as a regular in the show, appearing in Japanese television dramas, commercials and gravure magazines.
In 1993, she made her television drama debut in Twins Kyōshi (Twins Teacher), and has continued to appear in dramas ever since. She also provided the voice of Rami Nanahikari in the video game Keio Flying Squadron. In 1996, Kanno appeared in the drama Iguana Girl, adapted from the manga by Moto Hagio. She reprised her role as Rami in Keio Flying Squadron 2, and voiced the character Nana Takamura in Real Sound: Kaze no Regret in 1997. She was replaced with Miki Nagasawa for Rami-chan no Ōedo Sugoroku: Keiō Yūgekitai Gaiden in 1998. Afterwards, she continued to take on lead roles in several television and live stage dramas. Her role as Mieko Nobe in Your Hands are Whispering, a deaf and mute person trying to overcome hearing deficiencies while trying to build a family, won the general public opinion vote, which later translated into several awards for her, such as the ATP Award and "Erando-ru New Talent" Award.
At the same time, Kanno began pursuing her solo music career, making her debut on March 24, 1995 with "Koi o Shiyō!" (Let's Fall in Love!), after Sakura Gumi disbanded. Her first album was released later that year. She also participated in photography modeling. On August 22, 1997 (Kanno's 20th birthday), a book featuring nude photographs taken by Miyzawa Masaaki titled Nudity went on sale. Despite Kanno herself causing some controversy by crying at a press conference and criticizing the weekly magazine that had previously exposed the book's content, Nudity was one of 1997 top-ten bestselling books in Japan, selling 540,000 copies by June 2003. Some estimates suggest that 820,000 copies were sold.
Besides starring in dramas, Kanno is also active in variety shows. In 2005, she featured in the Fuji TV show Burogu Taipu as a regular. While Kanno is mostly focused on acting, she still continues to sing.

Personal life

Kanno has two younger brothers. Her parents live in Ōshū, Iwate.
On April 2, 2013, Kanno registered her marriage with fellow actor Masato Sakai in Tokyo.
She has two children with her husband, eldest being a boy born in 2015 and the younger being a girl born in 2018.