Namie Amuro was born on September 20, 1977, in Okinawa Prefecture. She enrolled in the Okinawa Actors School as an elementary school student. In her second year of junior high school, she became a member of "SUPER MONKEY'S" and made her entertainment debut in 1992. She appeared as a backup dancer in commercials and live performances, and in 1994 appeared on the TV show "Ponkickies" with Ranran Suzuki as part of "Sister Rabbits." In 1994, SUPER MONKEY'S changed its name to "Namie Amuro with SUPER MONKEY'S." The following year, she released the hit single "TRY ME - Believe in Me," produced by Avex's Max Matsuura. She began her solo career with "Taiyo no SEASON." In 1995, she released the single "Body Feels EXIT," produced by Tetsuya Komuro. Her million-selling albums began with the release of "Chase the Chance" at the end of the same year. Around this time, her style—brown hair, thin eyebrows, miniskirts, and platform boots—became popular, earning her the nickname "Amura fashion." Her 1997 single "CAN YOU CELEBRATE?" reached number one on the Oricon charts, becoming the highest-selling Japanese female solo artist of all time. At the height of her popularity, she married TRF dancer SAM, and the Cartier love rings they wore at a press conference became a hit. After taking time off to give birth and participating in the special project "SUITE CHIC" with Ryosuke Imai, ZEEBRA, and VERBAL, she actively performed live in Asia, including Taiwan and Korea, and gained a growing fan base.
In 2012, she celebrated the 20th anniversary of her solo debut, and appeared as a guest vocalist on the album of American R&B group TLC, who also celebrated their 20th anniversary, and made a splash by appearing at the opening ceremony of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo wearing a costume by FACETASM.
Starting this fall/winter season, she will appear in advertisements as the new muse for UNTITLED. At the shopping event FASHION'S NIGHT OUT 2013 held this month, a life-size "Namie Amuro mannequin" created using 3D scanning was displayed at Gucci Aoyama.
