Mirei Kiritani

Kiritani was born on December 16, 1989 in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.^[2] Her mother is originally from Hokkaido,^[6] while her father is from Fukuoka Prefecture, where she would frequently visit her grandparents' house as a child.^[7] She has a younger brother.^[8]

She moved to Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture in fifth grade and lived there until her second year of junior high school.^[9] She recalls feeling gloomy while living in Chiba and that she suddenly became more cheerful after moving to Osaka. Due to this, people around her were surprised when her family moved back to Chiba.^[9]

She attended Chiba Higashi High School [ja]. For half of her high school years, she served as manager of the rugby club.^[10]

She then went on to study at Ferris University. After taking a two-year break due to her busy work schedule, she graduated in March 2015 after seven years of study.^[11][12] She later revealed of her decision to attend university, "I went to university because I wasn't confident that I could make a living solely from this job...In the end, I'm glad I went to university. It was fun."^[13]

In 2005, while she was a freshman in high school, Kiritani was scouted by Sweet Power via a phone call at her home as "Chiba's number one beautiful girl".^[14]

She made her official on-screen debut in the film Haru no Ibasho, which was released in February 2006.^[15] She then appeared in TV Asahi's drama series Kisshō Tennyo, and subsequently in the BS-i shows Tokyo Girl and Kaidan Shin Mimibukuro. During this time, she became an exclusive model for Seventeen, a fashion magazine targeted towards teenage girls, from its April 16th issue.^[16] From October of the same year, she became a regular in the "Hayamimi Trend No.1" segment of Mezamashi TV.

In 2010, Kiritani played her first lead role in the film Ongakubito and subsequently her first lead role in a television drama in TV Asahi's Jotei Kaoruko. In 2011, she starred in her first mystery films Scattered Reflection and Snowflake.^[14] On August 31, 2011, she graduated from the fashion magazine Seventeen after five and a half years as an exclusive model. In September, she was featured in the MBS documentary program Jonetsu Tairiku.

In 2012, she played unique roles in the films Arakawa Under the Bridge and Ace Attorney, which were both released in February of that year.^[14]

Kiritani served as the Tuesday anchor for NTV's news program News Zero for six and a half years, from April 2012^[17] until September 25, 2018.^[18] In addition to providing in-studio commentary, she was also in charge of her own signature corner "Mirei Kiritani: My Generation", where she personally covered and reported on a variety of topics, such as hot topics among young people of her age and people who are making a name for themselves.^[12]

On April 20, 2015, Kiritani graduated as a regular model for the magazine Non-no in its June 2015 issue, which she announced on her blog.^[19] She would continue to model for other fashion magazines, such as GINGER [ja] and BAILA [ja].^[16] That same year, she starred in the original TV series Atelier, produced in collaboration with Fuji Television and American video streaming service, Netflix.^[20] On October 6, 2015, she won the Entertainment Industry Category – Female award at the 28th Japan Glasses Best Dresser Awards [ja].^[21]

In 2016, Kiritani had her first starring role in a Fuji TV Monday 9pm drama in A Girl & Three Sweethearts, which aired from July 11 to September 19, 2016.^[22] On December 19, 2016, she was selected as the "Most Beautiful Face of 2016" by Kodansha's beauty magazine VoCE [ja].^[23]

On March 7, 2022, it was announced that after 16 years, Kiritani would be leaving her agency Sweet Power at the end of the month. It was also revealed that after leaving her agency, she would continue her activities as a free agent and primarily work as a model.^[24] In July 2022, she made her first public appearance at an event since giving birth to her first child.^[25]

On March 12, 2024, it was announced that Kiritani would be joining NTV's information program News Every [ja] as a news anchor. She is in charge of reporting on Wednesdays and Thursdays.^[26] Her first broadcast appearance was originally scheduled for March 27, but due to poor health, she made her first appearance on April 3.^[27]

• Nail Queen 2014 (Actress Category)^[109]