Audrie Kiko Daniel (born October 15, 1990), known professionally as Kiko Mizuhara (Mizuhara Kiko), is an American-Japanese model, actress, singer and designer who has lived in Japan since childhood.
Kiko Mizuhara started her modeling career at the age of twelve when she entered an audition contest for Seventeen magazine in which readers selected their favorite new face for the magazine. Later, she signed as a model under ViVi and MAQUIA magazine. Mizuhara had her acting debut in 2010 in Norwegian Wood and from that year on, she has been continuously appearing in the big screen and has been part of Japanese dramas Yae no Sakura, Shitsuren Chocolatier and Nobunaga Concerto. In 2011 and 2013 respectively, she was featured as a singer in Towa Tei’s “The Burning Plain” and in M-Flo’s No Way track under their Neven album. Mizuhara has collaborated with Opening Ceremony, and singers Rihanna and Beyoncé have worn her designs for the brand. In 2014, Mizuhara was listed among the Business of Fashion 500: The People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry.
Early life
Mizuhara was born Audrie Kiko Daniel in Dallas, Texas and moved to Tokyo at age 2 and then to Kobe, Japan, at age 3 with her family. Her mother Yae Mizuhara is Zainichi Korean from Nagasaki, Japan and her father Todd Daniel is an American from Texas. She has a sister named Ashley Yuka Daniel who is 4 years younger than her who also works in the modeling industry under the name Yuka Mizuhara. When she was 13 years old, her parents divorced and her father moved back to the United States.
Career
Modeling
In 2002, Mizuhara participated in a contest and won an audition for fashion magazine Seventeen. At the audition, she was picked as Miss Seventeen and became an exclusive model for Seventeen for the next 3 years. At age 16, she moved to Tokyo alone, living separately from her mother and sister in Kobe to advance her career in modeling. In July 2007, Kiko Mizuhara became an exclusive model for fashion magazine ViVi.
Starting 2008 Kiko Mizuhara has been a regular runway model at the Tokyo Girls Collection. Her international runway debut was at The Paris Collections in Olympia Le Tan’s Spring/Summer 2014 Show. In the same year, Mizuhara was invited by British Fashion Designer Nasir Mazhar to walk for his S/S 2014 Collection at London Fashion Week and at Fashion Designer Jeremy Scott debut show for Moschino in Milan Fashion Week. Considering her experiences in runways, Mizuhara was chosen to open and close the Fall/Winter 2014 Show of Sretsis, a Thai-brand clothing line, during the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Tokyo. She has also participated in Nicola Formichetti’s first full collection show for Diesel in Venice, Italy. In 2017, Kiko Mizuhara walked for Alexander Wang (designer) S/S 2018 Ready-to-Wear collection at New York Fashion Week.
Aside from her runway experiences, Mizuhara has graced numerous magazine covers and features not only in Japan but also in Asia and Europe. She has appeared in major Vogue editorials for Vogue Japan, Vogue China, Vogue Taiwan, Vogue Italia, American Vogue, Vogue Girl Japan and L’Uomo Vogue. She has done covers and spreads for Nylon, Numero, Vivi, Seventeen, Grazia, GQ, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, L’Officiel, MAQUIA, GISELe, V Magazine, Another Magazine, Dazed and Confused, Cosmopolitan, Dedicate Magazine, Jalouse Magazine, etc. Being a top it-girl in their country, she has filmed advertisements locally and internationally which made her known by huge fashion people such as Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Anna Dello Russo, etc. Mizuhara has also shot ad campaigns for Diesel, Phillip Lim, Vivienne Tam, Reebok, Kitsuné, Tiffany & Co., Shiseido, etc. She has also been appointed as a CHANEL ambassador making her way to receive VIP and front row invitations for fashion week and all other events of the brand. In 2012, Mizuhara has been photographed by Karl Lagerfeld himself for CHANEL’s The Little Black Jacket campaign. Dec 2013 Kiko Mizuhara participated in the Chanel Metiers d’Art Show in Dallas, Texas.
Mizuhara starred in the Marc Jacobs Eyewear 2017 ad campaign. In 2018, she was appointed as the first Asian ambassador for Dior. She was also welcomed into the Coach family in the same year.
Acting
Mizuhara co-starred in Tran Anh Hung’s Norwegian Wood (2010) with Kenichi Matsuyama and Rinko Kikuchi. She played a supporting role in Mika Ninagawa’s Helter Skelter (2012), which is based on the award-winning manga of the same name by Kyoko Okazaki. She has also played a supporting role in Toshiaki Toyoda’s I’m Flash! (2012), and co-starred in Keishi Otomo’s Platinum Data with Kazunari Ninomiya. In addition to her films, Mizuhara played as a witch doctor in Trick The Movie: Last Stage (2014) where she spoke Bahasa as the movie was filmed in Kuching, Malaysia. In July 2014, Mizuhara was announced to have a part in the live action Attack on Titan released in summer (2015).
Mizuhara has made her first small screen appearance in Japanese television series Yae no Sakura. In 2014, she starred in the drama Shitsuren Chocolatier and Nobunaga Concerto. She was part of the main cast of the Japanese drama Kokoro ga Pokitto ne (Crazy For Me) in 2015.
Designing
Mizuhara first started her collaboration with Opening Ceremony during Spring 2013 in celebration of the Opening Ceremony flagship store in Japan. The collection was inspired by 1920s Paris creating a collection of très jolies blouses, lingerie, and frilled short-shorts. In the same year, she entitled her F/W collection “Bad Girl of the 90s” in which the famous pizza outfit made headlines as it was worn by top celebrity Beyoncé, other items she designed worn by Rihanna and others. Mizuhara is also debuting a collection of high-octane headgear that blends Harajuku style with ’90s streetwear, in collaboration with Opening Ceremony Japan and Harlem-based label Gypsy Sport. In 2014, Mizuhara launched her Spring/Summer Girlfriend of the Rockstar collection with a new set of chic, sexy and sweet pieces while a 1980s inspired Disco Bowling collection was released for Fall/Winter items. In Opening Ceremony Japan, Mizuhara has also collaborated with Photographer Nobuyoshi Araki and Designer Yoshikasu Yamagata in line with the opening of the brand’s first branch in Osaka, Japan.
Mizuhara teamed up with LA-based label UNIF in 2017 to launch a spring collection. The range is inspired by Mizuhara’s love of retro clothing, and the collaboration features a line-up of far-out ‘90s pieces, including a rainbow-colored crop top, an embroidered denim jacket, a mini slip dress and even a delicate, baby blue bra with butterfly detailing. Some items from this collection such as the KIKO X UNIF lucid mesh tee and beetle skirt were worn by members of the KPOP group Blackpink in their music video for their 2017 single As If It’s Your Last. Other celebrities who have worn her items from this collection include Brown Eyed Girls Ga-In and Sunmi.
In 2016, Mizuhara established KIKO Co.,Ltd. (commonly referred to as “OFFICE KIKO”). The following year, she launched her own designer brand called “OK”. In its first year of operation, “OK” already landed several high-profile collaborations, creating fashion, art culture and lifestyle products. On September 1, 2018, OFFICE KIKO announced a new line of boots and shoes in collaboration with the Esperanza, a Japanese footwear company catering to young women. The line includes kogal platform boots and chunky heels in various poppy colors and fabrics.
Filmography
Film
- Norwegian Wood (2010)
- Helter Skelter (2012)
- I’m Flash! (2012)
- Platina Data (2013)
- Trick The Movie: Last Stage (2014)
- Attack on Titan: End of the World (2015), Mikasa Ackerman
- The Kodai Family (2016), Shigeko Kōdai
- Nobunaga Concerto (2016), Oichi
- Tornado Girl (2017), Akari Amami
- The Blue Hearts (2017)
- Malu (2020)
- Aristocrats (2021), Miki
- Kanojo (2021), Rei
Television
- Yae no Sakura (2013), Yamakawa Sutematsu
- Shitsuren Chocolatier (2014), Erena Katō
- Nobunaga Concerto (2014)
- Kokoro ga Pokitto ne (english title: Crazy for me) (2015)
- Kazoku no Katachi (2016), Haruka
- The Good Wife (Japanese TV series) (2016)
- Uso no Sensou (2017)
- Queer Eye: We’re in Japan! (2019)