Ryoko Yonekura

Yonekura studied classical ballet for 15 years from the age of five.^{[citation needed]} Represented by the Oscar Promotion agency, she won the sixth Japan Bishōjo Contest in 1992.^[1] In 1993, she started her career as a model, working for fashion magazines such as CanCam.^{[citation needed]} She announced her intention to start her acting career in 1999.^[2] Her acting debut was in the TBS television drama Koi no Kamisama [ja], and has appeared in many dramas ever since.^[3]

Yonekura played the role of Roxie Hart in the Japanese-language production of Chicago in Tokyo 2008 and in 2010. She then learned the role in English and made her Broadway debut in 2012.^[4]

In late March 2020, her agency at the time, Oscar Promotion, announced that she would leave the agency after her contract expired on March 31, 2020.^[1] She founded her own personal agency, Desafio, in early April of the same year.^[5]

In December 2014, Yonekura announced that she had married a company owner two years her junior.^[6][7] In December 2016, Yonekura announced that she had divorced her husband. In a written statement, Yonekura commented, "After timely, repeated discussions, our divorce has been finalized. I am sorry to have caused trouble with my private matters." She continued, "I hope to move forward both as an actress and woman. I will do my best every day in order to challenge myself to various new things. Please continue to give me guidance and encouragement."^[8]

In October 2022, Yonekura announced she was withdrawing from performances of Chicago due to treatment for cerebrospinal fluid hypovolemia.^[9]