# Jeanne Sakata

Jeanne Sakata (born April 8, 1954) is an American film, television and stage actress and playwright.

## Career

Her appearances include supporting roles in episodes of Knots Landing, LA Law, Port Charles, Providence, Family Law, ER, Desperate Housewives and others. Her first appearance on the big screen was in 1992 in the erotic thriller Poison Ivy. In 2005, she appeared in a minor role as a field reporter in the action film XXX: State of the Union.
Sakata has performed in many stage productions, working often with East West Players (EWP) in Los Angeles. In 2002 she won the Ovation Award for Lead Actress in a Play, for her performance in Chay Yew's Red, at EWP. In 2007, her first play, Dawn's Light: The Journey of Gordon Hirabayashi premiered at EWP. The play was later retitled as Hold These Truths. In 2019, she was an honoree at EWP's Night Market event in celebration of her work advancing "the visibility of Asian Americans nationally."

## Filmography

Film roles :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1985 | Tales of Meeting and Parting | | Short film |
| 1992 | Poison Ivy | Isabelle | |
| 2002 | The Sweetest Thing | Ming | |
| 2004 | Hold the Rice | Daisy Green | Short film |
| 2005 | XXX: State of the Union | Field Reporter | |
| 2005 | American Fusion | Amy | |
| 2006 | Fast Money | Jin's Mother | Short film |
| 2006 | Guy Night Out | Guy's Mom | Short film |
| 2006 | Swimming in Air | | Short film |
| 2009 | Bottom Feeders | Bea | Short film |
| 2009 | Why Am I Doing This? | Rita | |
| 2011 | Adultolescence | Mrs. May / Mom | |
| 2012 | The Babymakers | Wanda | |
| 2013 | Sex & Marriage | Sarah | Direct-to-Video |
| 2014 | The Ballet Dancer | Sara | Short film |
| 2015 | Advantageous | Soon Yang | |
| 2018 | Find Me | Joyce | |
Television roles :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1990 | Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes | Burned woman | Uncredited; TV Movie |
| 1990 | Fine Things | Bernard's Secretary | TV movie |
| 1990 | Knots Landing | Shopper #4 | Episode: "Do Not Attempt to Remove" |
| 1990 | Adam-12 | Store Owner | Episode: "Blue Avengers" |
| 1991 | L.A. Law | Foreperson #1 | Episode: "Good to the Last Drop" |
| 1996 | Her Costly Affair | Mrs. Beals | TV movie |
| 1996 | Alien Nation: The Enemy Within | Coroner | TV movie |
| 1997 | Port Charles | Committee Member | 1 episode |
| 1999 | Providence | Madam Kim | Episode: "Guys and Dolls" |
| 1999-2001 | Family Law | Judge Wilhelmina Chais | 2 episode |
| 2002 | American Family | Red Cross Official | Episode: "The Forgotten War" |
| 2002-2003 | Presidio Med | Nguyen | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Line of Fire | Mai Lin | Episode: "I'm Your Boogie Man" |
| 2004 | ER | Lucia Rodriguez | Episode: "The Student" |
| 2004 | Threat Matrix | Dara Tep | Episode: "Cambodia" |
| 2005 | The Reading Room | Martha | TV movie |
| 2006 | Desperate Housewives | Li Wang | Episode: "Listen to the Rain on the Roof" |
| 2007 | Avatar: The Last Airbender | Ms. Kwan (voice) | Episode: "The Headband" |
| 2010 | Meet the Browns | Nee Hi | Episode: "Meet the Seoul Sister" |
| 2015-2016 | Dr. Ken | Pam | 2 episodes |
| 2018–present | Big Hero 6: The Series | Lenore Shimamoto / Mayor Saito (voice) | 3 episodes |
| 2019 | High School Musical: The Musical: The Series | Malou | Recurring |
| 2020- present | Station 19 | Nari Montgomery | Recurring |