Ai Hashimoto

Ai Hashimoto is a Japanese actress and fashion model. She was born on January 12, 1996 in Kumamoto Prefecture. She is currently represented by Sony Music Artists.

In 2008, her mother entered her in the Newcome “HuAHuA Audition”. She took home the grand prix, marking her debut in the entertainment industry. That same year, she participated in the 33rd Horipro Talent Scout Caravan and was one of the finalists. However, she lost the grand prix and special prize to Hikari Takara and Misaki Momose, respectively.

In 2009, she competed in Seventeen’s “Miss Magazine” competition in a pool of 5,267 applicants. She was the youngest of the group of winners which also included Emi Kudo, Arisa Takada and Alice Hirose, who is now her best friend.

Hashimoto made her acting debut in a low-budget movie called “Give and Go” (2009) in which she played a hearing impaired basketball player. Although the film itself was not particularly successful or widely distributed, then 14-year-old Hashimoto received critical praise for her enthusiastic performance.

In 2010, she played class chairman Mizuki Kitahara in Tetsuya Nakashima’s “Confessions”. It was an important role in a highly publicized film, and helped her gain the spotlight as an up-and-coming film actress.

As an actress, Hashimoto has identified Mirai Shida as someone she would most like to emulate.

Links: SMA Profile, Wikipedia (jp)