Karen Fukuhara
Fukuhara in 2022
Born (1992-02-10) February 10, 1992
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
EducationUniversity of California, Los Angeles (BA)
OccupationActress
Years active2015–present

Karen Fukuhara (born February 10, 1992[1][2]) is an American actress best known for her roles as Tatsu Yamashiro/Katana in the 2016 superhero film Suicide Squad and as Kimiko Miyashiro/The Female in the Amazon original series The Boys (2019–present). Fukuhara is also known for voicing the character Glimmer from the Netflix series She-Ra and the Princesses of Power and Kipo from Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts.

Early life and education

Fukuhara was born to Japanese parents in Los Angeles.[3] Her first language was Japanese, and she attended Japanese language school on Saturdays for 11 years.[1][3] She has a younger brother.[1] Fukuhara began practicing karate in middle school,[1] and became a brown-striped belt before leaving for college.[1] She is a lifetime fan of the Pokémon franchise and enjoyed playing her Game Boy growing up.[4]

Fukuhara attended University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) while working as a reporter for a sports show on NHK in Japan.[3][5] She was a member of the a cappella group Medleys, whose alumni include fellow actress Kelly Marie Tran.[6][7] Fukuhara graduated from UCLA in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a minor in Theater.[6][7]

Career

Fukuhara got her start in the entertainment industry in middle school when she was cast as a host for Movie Surfers, a short form entertainment news program on the Disney Channel.[3][6]

Prior to her acting debut, Fukuhara worked various part-time jobs, including as a translator, subtitle editor, and waitress at a reggae-themed sushi restaurant.[3]

In 2016, Fukuhara made her film debut as Katana in the DC Comics superhero film Suicide Squad, which was released in August 2016.[8][9] Although she had prior martial arts experience, Fukuhara trained for about two months during pre-production in order to learn how to wield a sword correctly.[1]

In 2019, Fukuhara appeared in Stray (alongside Christine Woods, Miyavi, and Ross Partridge).[10]

Fukuhara voiced the characters Sewer Queen and Alexis in the Cartoon Network series Craig of the Creek. In 2018, she began voicing Glimmer in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, a reboot of the 1985 animated television series.[11]

In 2019, she began starring as Kimiko in the Amazon Prime series The Boys, based on the comic book of the same name.[12]

In 2020, she voiced the titular lead character of Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts.[13] The series is based on the short-lived webcomic named Kipo.

In 2023, Netflix announced Fukuhara would voice Haru, the titular character of Pokémon Concierge.[14]

Filmography

Films

Year Title Role Notes
2016 Suicide Squad Tatsu Yamashiro / Katana
2017 The Lost Laura Baker Short
2019 Stray Nori
2020 Bobbleheads: The Movie Ikioi (voice) Direct-to-DVD
2022 Bullet Train Kayda Izumi Concession Girl
2023 The Boy and the Heron Lady Himi (voice) English-language dub[15]
2023 Craig Before the Creek Alexis (voice)

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2018–present Craig of the Creek Sewer Queen, Alexis (voice) Recurring; 11 episodes
2018–2020 She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Glimmer (voice)[16] Series regular; 48 episodes
2019–present The Boys Kimiko Miyashiro / The Female[17] Series regular; 21 episodes
2020 Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts Kipo Oak (voice) Lead role; 30 episodes
2021 Star Wars: Visions F (voice) Short film: The Village Bride: English-language dub[18]
2021 Archer Reiko (voice) 1 episode: Dingo, baby, et cetera
2022 Modern Love Tokyo Tamami (voice) 1 episode: He's Playing Our Song. English-language dub.
2023 Alice's Wonderland Bakery Sakura (voice)
2023 Pokémon Concierge Haru (voice)

Video games

Year Title Voice role Notes
2022 The Callisto Protocol Dani Nakamura [19]

Commercials

Year Title Voice role Notes
2021 Taco Bell: Nacho Fries — Fry Force Rei [20]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Regensdorf, Laura (August 5, 2016). "Meet Karen Fukuhara, Suicide Squad's Karate-Trained Breakout Star". Vogue. Archived from the original on August 15, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  2. ↑ Andrea, Mandell; Truitt, Brian; Alexander, Bryan (February 15, 2017). "Attention, Hollywood: It's time to give these 11 Asian stars their due". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on November 5, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Nguyen, Minh (August 1, 2016). "Karen Fukuhara Talks 'Suicide Squad,' Katana, and 'Dora the Explorer'". NBC News (Interview). Archived from the original on July 17, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Talking Pokémon Concierge at Los Angeles Comic Con". Nintendo Supply. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Young Superstar Karen Fukuhara Joins Suicide Squad with a Mission". Mochi Magazine. November 4, 2016. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 "Next Big Thing: 'Suicide Squad's' Karen Fukuhara Explains Her Tattoo From Margot Robbie". The Hollywood Reporter. July 26, 2016. Archived from the original on July 27, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  7. 1 2 "Karen Fukuhara '14 |". Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  8. ↑ Hawkes, Rebecca (May 26, 2015). "Suicide Squad: everything you need to know". telegraph.co.uk. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on June 6, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  9. ↑ Trumbore, Dave (July 11, 2015). "Suicide Squad Cast Reveals First Trailer At Comic-Con". Collider. Archived from the original on July 12, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  10. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (December 2, 2016). "Christine Woods, 'Suicide Squad's Karen Fukuhara & More Join 'Sleight' Team's 'Stray'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  11. ↑ Petski, Denise (May 18, 2018). "'She-Ra And the Princesses Of Power': Aimee Carrero, Karen Fukuhara, Sandra Oh Among Voice Cast". Deadline. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  12. ↑ Petski, Denise (March 21, 2018). "'The Boys': 'Suicide Squad's Karen Fukuhara Cast In Amazon's Superhero Drama Series". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  13. ↑ Ramos, Dino-Ray (December 12, 2019). "'Kipo And The Age Of Wonderbeasts': Karen Fukuhara, Sterling K. Brown, Dan Stevens And More Set For Animated Series". Deadline. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  14. ↑ Mateo, Alex (November 14, 2023). "Pokémon Concierge Stop-Motion Animated Series' English Trailer Reveals Theme Song, December 28 Premiere". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  15. ↑ Wu, Valerie (October 17, 2023). "Hayao Miyazaki's 'The Boy and the Heron' Announces English Voice Cast: Christian Bale, Florence Pugh and Robert Pattinson to Star". Variety. Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  16. ↑ "She-Ra gets a makeover! A first look at the new Netflix series and meet the cast". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 5, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  17. ↑ Petski, Denise (March 21, 2018). "'The Boys': 'Suicide Squad's Karen Fukuhara Cast In Amazon's Superhero Drama Series". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Stunning New Star Wars: Visions Trailer Debuts". StarWars.com. August 17, 2021. Archived from the original on August 17, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  19. ↑ "'THE CALLISTO PROTOCOL' CREATOR SAYS IT'S WAY SCARIER THAN 'DEAD SPACE'". July 1, 2022. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Taco Bell's 'Fry Force' Is About One Thing: Hope". Muse by Clio. Retrieved November 15, 2023.

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