Model TAO (Tao Okamoto) was born on May 22, 1985, in Chiba Prefecture. She was over 170 cm tall by the time she was in sixth grade, and decided to take advantage of her height by debuting as a model at age 14. She studied English in England for a year during high school, then moved to France at age 20. She personally negotiated with a modeling agency, signed a contract with them, and appeared in the Paris Collection that year. At the 2009 New York Collection, she cut her long hair and sported a mushroom cut. This marked her breakthrough, leading to her being selected as an advertising model for Ralph Lauren and Benetton. This hairstyle later became known as "TAO hair" and became popular among Japanese women. She also enjoyed success, such as appearing in a 3.1 Phillip Lim fashion show with all the other models sporting "TAO hair," leading to her being selected as a muse.

After that, she won the 52nd FEC Model of the Year award and appeared on the cover of Vogue Japan, quickly becoming a prominent figure in the modeling world. For Givenchy's 2011 Spring/Summer collection, she appeared with a unique hairstyle in which her bangs were cut even shorter.

In 2013, she was selected to play the heroine in the Hollywood film The Wolverine, and began her career as an actress.