Actress Yoko Maki was born on October 15, 1982, in Inzai City, Chiba Prefecture. The eldest of four children, she had a strong desire to enter the entertainment industry since childhood. After graduating from junior high school, she overcame her parents' objections and applied to the acting school "Mumeijuku." Despite the 400-to-1 competition rate that year, she successfully secured a place as a student. Just two years after enrolling, she showed great promise, including being cast as Natasha in the play "Donzoko." However, a trivial disagreement led to an argument with the school's director, Tatsuya Nakadai. Ultimately, Maki left Mumeijuku. In 2001, she made her acting debut in the educational film "DRUG." In July of the same year, she made a guest appearance in the NHK period drama "Moichi's Case Files: Fushigi Soushi," and went on to appear in films such as "Shimotsuma Monogatari" and "Pacchigi!", as well as numerous dramas and commercials. In 2006, she starred in "Sway," directed by Nishikawa Miwa. The film won numerous awards and was shown at the Directors' Fortnight of the Cannes Film Festival, garnering worldwide acclaim. For this film, Maki also won the Yamaji Fumiko Film Award for Best New Actress. That same year, she also made her debut in the film "Veronica Decides to Die," where her daring nude scene garnered considerable attention. In 2008, she starred in "Weekly Maki Yoko," a unique drama series in which different directors and screenwriters handle each episode. In 2010, she appeared as Oryo in the NHK historical drama "Ryomaden," steadily building her career. In 2013, her starring role in the film "Goodbye Valley" won numerous awards, including the Special Jury Prize at the Moscow International Film Festival. Her film "Like Father, Like Son," released that same year, also won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. These achievements were further recognized when she simultaneously won the Japan Academy Award for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. In 2014, she released the photo book "MUSCOVITE" and held an exhibition of the photos at Gallery Speak For in Daikanyama. Maki also has a close relationship with Louis Vuitton, having been the first Japanese person to be featured in their street advertisements in 2013 and cutting the ribbon at the opening of the Louis Vuitton Shinjuku store in 2014. Meanwhile, in her personal life, she married former actor Tomoo Katayama in 2008 and had a daughter the following year.