Fashion Model Yu Yamada

Twenty-year-old charismatic fashion model Yu Yamada's career is really taking off. Not only is she a popular magazine cover girl, she is also the campaign girl for the Tokyo Metro and a star in the TBS drama "Yumede Aimasho" (Let's meet in our dreams) that started from April. In it, she is a dental assistant who isn't afraid to play love games using her beauty.

The Okinawan-born Yamada's TV commercial contracts are increasing, too. Besides hawking products for Kanebo, Vodafone and five other major companies, confectionery company Ezaki Glico selected her to pitch its new ice cream. "She is very stylish but down to earth and has a lot of male and female fans. That's why we chose her as our campaign girl," said an Ezaki Glico spokesperson. "Since the ads started appearing, sales of the new ice cream have skyrocketed quickly and it's thanks to Yamada."

According to Tatsuo Sekine of CM Total Research, celebrities who have more than five commercial contracts are rated A. "Yamada is not only popular among adults, she also has a lot of children fans. When she did the ball exercise in the Glico apple yogurt TV commercial, children who saw it mimicked her and it became a sort of children's phenomenon."

Such magnetic power is an important asset for an actress. Yamada's TV commercial guarantee has been estimated at around 30 million yen per product, but that will probably go up to 50 million within a year, said Sekine.

When Yamada was 11 years old, she entered the same Okinawa acting and singing school that singers Namie Amuro and Speed attended. In 1999, she made her singing debut with the group y'z factory. One year later, she was offered modeling work by top fashion magazine Can Cam and was soon walking the red carpet at gala events.

The reason for Yamada's popularity is her perfect proportion, say industry observers. She is 170 centimeters tall, and her vital measurements are B83, W58, H83.

She seems to have inherited much of her good looks from her mother, Mikako Yamada, a 46-year-old former JAL flight attendant and fashion model with 23 years in the business. Mikako also was born in Okinawa. After graduating from high school, she came to Tokyo to study at a flight attendant academy. She won two beauty pageants and was subsequently named Miss Okinawa in the first such pageant held by the prefecture. She married at age 25 and had three children — Yu and two boys.

In the May edition of VoCE, Yu and Mikako appear in a photo spread together. Mikako wears a sleeveless shirt and miniskirt, and more than holds her own against her daughter. She says: "Actually, Yu has a longer career in the magazine industry, so I asked her advice for the photo shoot."
(Translated from Shukan Post)