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Miyoshi Umeki
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Miyoshi Umeki | |
 as Mei Li in the 1961 film Flower Drum Song |
|
| Born | April 3, 1929, age 77 Otaru, Hokkaidō, Japan |
| Academy Awards | |
|---|---|
| Best Supporting Actress 1957 Sayonara |
|
Miyoshi Umeki (Umeki Miyoshi, born on April 3, 1929 in Otaru, Hokkaidō, Japan) is an Academy Award-winning actress.
Umeki began her career as a nightclub singer in Japan under the name Nancy Umeki before moving to the United States. She won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her first film role, Sayonara (1957), becoming the first Asian actress to win the award. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway premiere production of Flower Drum Song, which opened in 1958.
She appeared in only four more motion pictures during her career, most notably the film version of Flower Drum Song (1961). During 1969-1972 she played the part of Mrs. Livingston in the television series The Courtship of Eddie's Father.
As a recording artist she made several records for RCA Victor Japan and appeared in some musical shorts as Nancy Umeki until she moved to the US. After her appearance on the Arthur Godrey Talent Scouts TV show (she was a series regular for one season), she signed with the Mercury Records label and released several singles and two albums.
Her first marriage was to Televsion Director Wynn Opie in 1958 and they adopted one son. She later married Director Randall Hood, a marriage that lasted until his death in 1976. She and Hood also ran a theatrical lighting business that she dissolved after her husband's passing.
She currently lives in a small town in Missouri near her son and his family.
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Dorothy Malone for Written on the Wind |
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress 1957 for Sayonara |
Succeeded by Wendy Hiller for Separate Tables |