# Ryoko Yonekura

Ryoko Yonekura (米倉 涼子, Yonekura Ryōko, born August 1, 1975) is a Japanese actress and former fashion model best known for her role in the Japanese medical drama Doctor-X: Surgeon Michiko Daimon. She also performs the voice of Black Widow in the Japanese-language releases of the Avengers film series.

## Career

Yonekura studied classical ballet for 15 years from the age of five. Represented by the Oscar Promotion agency, she won the sixth Japan Bishōjo Contest in 1992. In 1993, she started her career as a model, working for fashion magazines such as CanCam. She announced her intention to start her acting career in 1999. Her acting debut was in the TBS television drama Koi no Kamisama [ja], and has appeared in many dramas ever since.
Yonekura played the role of Roxie Hart in the Japanese-language production of Chicago in Tokyo 2008 and in 2010. She then learned the role in English and made her Broadway debut in 2012.
In late March 2020, her agency at the time, Oscar Promotion, announced that she would leave the agency after her contract expired on March 31, 2020. She founded her own personal agency, Desafio, in early April of the same year.

## Personal life

In December 2014, Yonekura announced that she had married a company owner two years her junior. In December 2016, Yonekura announced that she had divorced her husband. In a written statement, Yonekura commented, "After timely, repeated discussions, our divorce has been finalized. I am sorry to have caused trouble with my private matters." She continued, "I hope to move forward both as an actress and woman. I will do my best every day in order to challenge myself to various new things. Please continue to give me guidance and encouragement.".
In October 2022, Yonekura announced she was withdrawing from performances of Chicago due to treatment for cerebrospinal fluid hypovolemia.

## Filmography
### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | Koi no Kamisama [ja] | Erika Saionji | |
| 2000 | Tenki-yoho no Koibito | Ikuko Sudo | |
| 2000 | Hatachi no Kekkon | Ranko | |
| 2000 | Straight News | Yuka Ichino | |
| 2001 | Love Revolution | Mariko Endou | |
| 2001 | Hikon Kazoku | Hikaru Matoba | |
| 2002 | Pretty Girls | Ayumi Kurai | |
| 2002 | Artificial Beauty | Honami Saotome | Lead role |
| 2002 | Sonagi: Ameagari no Satsui [ja] | Chizuru Otsuki | Lead role |
| 2003 | Musashi [ja] | Otsu | Taiga drama |
| 2004 | Okusama wa Majo | Arisa Matsui | Lead role |
| 2004 | Kurokawa no Techo | Motoko Haraguchi | Lead role |
| 2005 | Nyokei Kazoku [ja] | Fumino Hamada | Lead role |
| 2005 | Haru to Natsu: Todokanakatta Tegami [ja] | Haru Takakura (young) | Lead role |
| 2005 | Onna no Ichidaiki [ja] | Haruko Sugimura | Lead role |
| 2006 | Kemonomichi [ja] | Tamiko Narusawa | Lead role |
| 2006 | Fushin no Toki [ja] | Michiko Asai | Lead role |
| 2007 | Warui Yatsura | Toyomi Terashima | Lead role |
| 2007 | Katagoshi no Koibito [ja] | Moe Hayasaka | Lead role |
| 2008–2009 | Kōshōnin [ja] | Reiko Usagi | Lead role; also known as The Negotiator |
| 2008 | Monster Parent [ja] | Itsuki Takamura | Lead role |
| 2008 | Koori no Hana [ja] | Kyoko Seno | Lead role |
| 2010 | Nasake no Onna [ja] | Matsuko Matsudaira | Lead role |
| 2011 | Hunter: Sono Onna-tachi, Shōkin Kasegi | Rei Isaka | Lead role |
| 2012 | Atsui Kūki | Nobuko Kono | Lead role |
| 2012–2021 | Doctor-X: Surgeon Michiko Daimon | Michiko Daimon | Lead role |
| 2013 | 35-sai no Koukousei | Ayako Baba | Lead role |
| 2014 | Kaseifu wa Mita | Nobuko Sawaguchi | Lead role |
| 2014 | Mighty Ant | Isako Sawada | Lead role |
| 2014 | Out Burn | Eiko Yagami | Lead role |
| 2015 | Kaseifu wa Mita 2 | Nobuko Sawaguchi | Lead role |
| 2016 | Kagerou Ezu | Nui | Lead role |
| 2018 | Legal V Ex-lawyer Shoko Takanashi | Shoko Takanashi | Lead role |
| 2019 | Crayon Shin-chan | Michiko Daimon (voice) | Episode: "Doctor-X" |
| 2022 | The Journalist | Anna Matsuda | Lead role |
| 2023 | Angel Flight | Nami Izawa | Lead role |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | Cardboard House Girl | An Sakurai | Lead role |
| 2002 | Gun Crazy: A Woman from Nowhere | Saki Yamada | Lead role |
| 2008 | Sakura no Sono | Shino Wakamatsu | |
| 2010 | Koshonin the Movie | Reiko Usagi | Lead role |
| 2024 | Doctor-X: The Movie | Michiko Daimon | Lead role |

### Japanese dub

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2012 | The Avengers | Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) |
| 2013 | Diana | Diana (Naomi Watts) |
| 2014 | Captain America: The Winter Soldier | Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) |
| 2015 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) |
| 2016 | Captain America: Civil War | Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) |
| 2018 | Avengers: Infinity War | Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) |
| 2019 | Avengers: Endgame | Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) |
| 2021 | Black Widow | Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) |
| 2022 | Bullet Train | Maria Beetle (Sandra Bullock) |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Work | Category | Result | Ref. |
| 2002 | 26th Élan d'Or Award | — | Newcomer of the Year | Won | |
| 2023 | Asian Academy Creative Award | Angel Flight | Best Actress in a Leading Role (Japan) | Won | |