# Rina Chinen

Rina Chinen (知念 里奈, Chinen Rina, born 9 February 1981), is a Japanese entertainer, former singer, and musical theater actress. She is affiliated with Rising Production.

## History

Rina Chinen took lessons as a child from the Okinawa Actors School. By the time she reached junior high, she relocated to Osaka due to her father's work, but she continued to take lessons at the Okinawa Actors School during the weekend. Chinen moved to Tokyo shortly after graduating from high school.

## Music career

In October 1996, Chinen made her music debut with the single "Do-Do for Me". A year later, her second single "Precious Delicious" earned her the Best New Artist Award at the 39th Japan Record Awards, with her third single, "Pinch ~Love Me Deeper~", being used as the third and final ending theme for the anime series, Kodomo no Omocha that same year. In 1998, her fifth single "Wing" peaked at No. 5 on Oricon's singles chart, becoming her biggest hit.
On 15 July 2001, Chinen performed at the Music Fest Peace of Ryukyu, a music festival featuring Okinawan artists. As her pop music activity decreased, she pursued a career in musical acting in 2003.
On 21 October 2021, Sony Music Entertainment Japan released all 81 of Chinen's songs internationally on digital streaming platforms to commemorate the 25th anniversary of her debut.

## Acting career
### Television

In July 1996, Chinen made her acting debut in the drama series Gakkō no Kaidan R (学校の怪談R, School Kaidan R). In 2002, Chinen appeared in the drama series Yume no California (夢のカリフォルニア, California Dreamin).
On 29 July 2020, Chinen was announced as part of the cast of the Toei tokusatsu drama Kamen Rider Saber.

### Musical theatre

Chinen made her musical theatre debut in the Tokyo production of Jekyll & Hyde in December 2003. A year later, she starred in the localized adaptations of Miss Saigon and Fiddler on the Roof. In 2005, Chinen appeared in the Tokyo production of Les Misérables. She has since taken multiple roles for Miss Saigon and Les Misérables until 2022. Chinen is the first actress in Japan to do both Cosette, Éponine and Fantine in Les Misérables followed by Erika Ikuta, who became the second actress to do so and she is also the first actress in Japan to do both Kim and Ellen in Miss Saigon. Chinen also played Winifred Banks in the Japanese stage production of Mary Poppins in 2022.

## Personal life

On 10 August 2005, Chinen, at the age of 24, registered her marriage to model Kentaro Nakamura, aged 22. The couple were expecting a child at the time she was cast in Jekyll & Hyde; her part was consequently reassigned to Ranran Suzuki. Chinen announced she planned on taking maternity leave after the drama finished its season, and would continue working after becoming a mother. Chinen gave birth to a baby boy on 11 March 2006. Chinen and Nakamura divorced on 15 March 2007. Nakamura was arrested on drug charges in June of that year.
Chinen married actor Yoshio Inoue on 27 July 2016. She gave birth to her second boy on 12 June 2018.
On 9 December 2019, Chinen announced that she had passed the high school graduation certification exam.

## Discography
### Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions :
| Title | Date | Peak chart positions | Sales (JPN) | RIAJ certification | Album |
| Title | Date | Oricon Singles Charts | Sales (JPN) | RIAJ certification | Album |
| "Do-Do for Me" | 21 October 1996 | 37 | | | Growing |
| "Precious Delicious" | 31 March 1997 | 18 | | | Growing |
| "Pinch ~Love Me Deeper~" | 18 September 1997 | 20 | | | Growing |
| "Break Out Emotion" | 28 January 1998 | 24 | | | Growing |
| "Wing" | 15 April 1998 | 5 | | Gold | Growing |
| "Be Yourself" | 15 July 1998 | 9 | | Gold | Passage ~Best Collection~ |
| "Yes" | 13 January 1999 | 6 | | Gold | Passage ~Best Collection~ |
| "God Bless the World" | 31 March 1999 | 9 | | | Passage ~Best Collection~ |
| "Be Proud" | 23 June 1999 | 15 | | | Passage ~Best Collection~ |
| "In Your Eyes" | 29 September 1999 | 18 | | | Passage ~Best Collection~ |
| "Baby Love" | 4 February 2000 | 25 | | | Passage ~Best Collection~ |
| "Love, Make Together" | 20 September 2000 | 26 | | | Breath |
| "Club Zipangu" | 15 November 2000 | 34 | | | Breath |
| "Just Believe" | 6 December 2000 | 39 | | | Breath |
| "Love You Close" | 7 March 2001 | 39 | | | Breath |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. ||||||

### Studio albums

| Year | Information | Oricon weekly peak position | Sales | RIAJ certification |
| 1998 | Growing Released: 10 June 1998 Label: Sony Japan Formats: CD, MD | 2 | | Platinum |
| 2001 | Breath Released: 4 July 2001 Label: Sony Japan Formats: CD | 28 | | |

### Compilation albums

| Year | Information | Oricon weekly peak position | Sales | RIAJ certification |
| 2000 | Passage ~Best Collection~ Released: 23 March 2000 Label: Sony Japan Formats: CD | 10 | | |
| 2017 | 20th Anniversary ~Singles & My Favorites~ Released: 8 February 2017 Label: Sony Music Direct Formats: CD | 117 | | |

## Videography

| Year | Information | Oricon weekly peak position |
| 1998 | Plain Video Clips Released: 29 July 1998 (VHS); 19 September 1998 (DVD) Label: Sony Japan Formats: VHS, DVD | — |
| 1999 | Growing Tour 1999 Released: 14 July 1999 (VHS); 4 August 1999 (DVD) Label: Sony Japan Formats: VHS, DVD | — |
| 2000 | Rina Clips 98—00 Released: 29 March 2000 Label: Sony Japan Formats: VHS, DVD | — |

## Filmography
### TV

* Gakkō no Kaidan R (Kansai TV, 1996) – Kazuko Miyata
* Shin-D – "Love Blood" (Kansai TV, 1997)
* Five (NTV, 1997) – Madoka
* Yume no California (TBS, 2002)
* Kochira Hon Ikegami Sho (TBS, 2002—2005) – Atsuko Shindō
* Asami Mitsuhiko Series 19: Yuta ga Aishita Tantei (Fuji TV, 2004) – Kaori
* Kyoto Chiken no Onna (TV Asahi, 2010) – Kumi Sekimoto
* SP ~ Keishichō Keigo-ka (TV Asahi, 2012) – Yuri Sudō
* First Class (Fuji TV, 2014) – Madoka Ōkubo
* Lunch Detective ~ Koi to Gourmet to Nazotoki to ~ (YTV, 2020) – Ritsuko Shiraishi
* Kamen Rider Saber (TV Asahi, 2020) – Sophia

### TV animation

* Star Twinkle PreCure (2019) – Mary Anne

### Film

* Seishun Mandala! (2010) – Miki
* Saber + Zenkaiger: Superhero Senki (2021) - Sophia

### Film animation

* Doraemon: Nobita and the Winged Braves (2001) – Tsubakuro
* Star Twinkle PreCure the Movie: These Feelings Within the Song of Stars (2019) – Mary Anne

### Dubbing

* The Star (2017) – Mary

### Musicals

* Jekyll & Hyde – Emma Carew (December 2003)
* Miss Saigon – Kim (2004–2014), Ellen (2016–2022)
* Fiddler on the Roof – Hodel (2004)
* Les Misérables – Cosette (2005), Éponine (2007–2009), Fantine (2011–2021)
* Rudolf – Princess Stephanie of Belgium (2008)
* Dance of the Vampires – Sarah (2009–2011)
* She Loves Me – Ilona Ritter (2009)
* Oh! Tabaruzaka – Fujimaki (2010)
* Himeyuri – Kimi (2010)
* SHOW-ismIV TATTOO 14 – Guest Sky (2013)
* Ludwig B – Eleanore von Breuning (2014)
* Radiant Baby – Amanda (2016)
* Mary Poppins – Winfred Banks (2022)
* Song Cycle Musical: In a world of never ending rain in 2024 – Performer (2024)
* Ludwig B 〜HEART SONG (Unmei no tobira wa aka reta)〜 – Julie "Giulietta" Guicciardi (2024)
* Kane and Abel – Zaphia (2025)