Youki Kudoh
Nude

A former kiddie pop sensation, Japanese beauty Youki Kudoh (AKA Yûki Kudô and Kudou Yuuki) inevitably made the leap to acting, landing a role in the black comedy The Crazy Family (1984). She received good reviews for her performance, which springboarded her into roles in the films Typhoon Club (1985), Congratulatory Speech (1985), Janpuappu! Seishun (tr. Jump Up! Youth) (1986), Oya ni wa naisho de… (tr. I Don’t Know…) (1986), Honba jyoshikou manual: Hatsukoi binetsu-hen (1987), Hanazono no meikyu (1988), Gekitotsu! Kyonshi kozo shijo saikyo no kanfu akuma gundan (1988), and Aoi sanmyaku ’88 (1988). Stateside, she’s had sultry roles as Russell Crowe‘s lusty lover in Heaven’s Burning (1997) and opposite Ethan Hawke in Snow Falling on Cedars (1999). She also played Pumpkin in the Oscar-winning drama Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) and guested as Kikuki in the short-lived but influential Judd Apatow sitcom Undeclared. Youki’s sexiest role came in the Jim Jarmusch-directed cult fave Mystery Train (1989), where she offered a tantalizing peek at her breasts during a hot love scene with her rockabilly boyfriend. It’s short but sweet and whets our appetite for her Japanese delicacies. Unfortunately, she has yet to let us taste her other treats. Youki continues to act, but she sticks mostly to Eastern productions in which her clothes stick on. These include the movies Ao no Kaerimichi (2018), We Are Little Zombies (2019), and The Brighton Miracle (2019), as well as the TV series Gal & Dino. Despite her skinlessness, we’re happy she’s getting work. Kudos, Youki!