Aragaki Yui's Profile
- Full Name: Aragaki Yui
- Native Name: 新垣 結衣
- Nicknames: Gakki
- Birthday: Jun 11, 1988 (37 years old)
- Blood type: A
- Height/Weight: 169 cm (5′7″) / 50 kg (110 lbs)
- Gender: Female
- Zodiac Sign: Gemini
- Debut: 2005
- Birthplace: Naha, Okinawa, Japan
-
Nationality:
Japanese
- Profession: Actress, Model, Singer
- Languages: Japanese (Native)
- Current Agency: LesPros Entertainment
- Active Years: 2001 – present (24 years)
Aragaki Yui (新垣 結衣) is a Japanese actress, singer, model, and radio personality. She was born on June 11, 1988, in Naha, Okinawa, Japan. Aragaki began her career in the entertainment industry as a model, later expanding into acting, singing, and broadcasting. She is currently represented by LesPros Entertainment and pursues her music activities under Warner Music Japan.
Early Life
Aragaki was born and raised in Naha, Okinawa, as the youngest of three sisters. In 2001, at the age of 13, she entered a model audition for the teen fashion magazine Nicola and won the Grand Prix, which led to her becoming an exclusive model for the magazine. During her time there, she appeared on the cover 15 times—a notably high number compared to many of her contemporaries.
In 2003, at the age of 15, Aragaki moved to Tokyo to attend Horikoshi High School, a school known for its many celebrity alumni. Around the same time, she began transitioning from modeling to acting and commercial work. Among her early projects, her appearance in a commercial for Pocky quickly boosted her public recognition and laid the foundation for her future acting career.
Career
Aragaki Yui began her career in 2001 after winning the Grand Prix at the model audition for Nicola, a leading Japanese teen fashion magazine. She became an exclusive model for the magazine and appeared on its cover multiple times, laying the foundation for her future in entertainment.
In 2004, she appeared in variety shows and commercials. Notably, her commercial campaign for Ezaki Glico’s Pocky snack greatly boosted her public recognition in Japan. In 2005, she made her acting debut with a supporting role in the TBS drama Dragon Zakura, marking her first step into acting.
From 2006 to 2007, Aragaki appeared in several television dramas, including Gal Circle (Nippon TV), My Boss My Hero (Nippon TV), and Papa to Musume no Nanokakan (TBS). In 2007, she starred in three feature films: Waruboro (Toei), Tokyo Serendipity (also known as Koisuru Madori, Toei), and Koizora (Toei). That same year, she released her debut album Sora under Warner Music Japan, featuring the songs “Heavenly Days” and “Memories.” Despite temporarily suspending some activities due to work-related stress in 2007, she received multiple Best Newcomer awards from Japanese film organizations.
In 2008, she released two singles, “Make My Day” and “Akai Ito,” both under Warner Music Japan. Make My Day reached No. 2 on the Oricon Singles Chart. That year, she also began portraying Dr. Megumi Shiraishi in the Fuji TV medical drama Code Blue, a role she continued to reprise across multiple seasons and in a theatrical film adaptation by Toho. In 2009, she released another single, “Piece.”
From 2010 to 2012, Aragaki hosted the radio segment GIRLS LOCKS! within the popular youth program SCHOOL OF LOCK! on Tokyo FM.
In 2012, she took on the role of lawyer Machiko Mayuzumi in Fuji TV’s courtroom drama Legal High, reprising the role again in the 2013 sequel. In 2014, she played a mother for the first time in the Shochiku film Twilight: Saya in Sasara.
In 2016, Aragaki starred in the TBS romantic comedy drama Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu (The Full-Time Wife Escapist). The series achieved high ratings, and its ending theme dance, popularly known as the “Koi Dance,” became a viral social media phenomenon in Japan. That same year, she also appeared as a guest judge on the 67th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen.
In 2017, she appeared in NHK’s special drama Kizuna: Hashire Kiseki no Kouma and returned for Code Blue Season 3 (Fuji TV). She also starred in the Toho sports comedy film Mixed Doubles, for which she won the Best Actress award at the 60th Blue Ribbon Awards, presented by Tokyo-based film journalists.
In 2018, Aragaki reprised her role in Code Blue the Movie (Toho) and starred in the Nippon TV drama We Married as a Job! correction –> (actually Kemono ni Narenai Watashitachi, official English title: Weakest Beast). In 2020, she appeared in the Nippon TV youth drama Oyabaka Seishun Hakusho. In early 2021, she returned for The Full-Time Wife Escapist: New Year Special (TBS) and made a guest appearance in the final episode of Dragon Zakura Season 2 (TBS).
In 2022, she joined the NHK Taiga historical drama The 13 Lords of the Shogun and starred in the Toho children’s fantasy film Ghostbook: Obakezukan.
In 2023, she appeared in Fuji TV’s drama Kazama Kimichika: Kyojo 0 alongside Takuya Kimura and in the WOWOW original drama Fence. Later that year, she starred in Toho’s psychological drama film (Ab)normal Desire, which was selected for competition at the Tokyo International Film Festival and won both the Audience Award and the Best Director Award.
In 2024, Aragaki headlined the Shochiku film A Girl in the Box correction –> actually Ikoku Nikki (official English title: Diary of My Homecoming), directed by Seta Natsuki, which was released in Japan in June. That same year, she voiced Sister Hiyoshiko in the animated feature The Colors Within (Kimi no Iro), directed by Naoko Yamada and produced by Science SARU, distributed by Toho Animation.
By 2025, The Colors Within had its international rollout, including a North American premiere early in the year. Concurrently, Aragaki appeared in a commercial campaign for Nama no Toki, a fermented beverage produced by Meiji Co., Ltd., part of the Tokyo-based Meiji Group.
Fun Facts
- Her nickname “Gakki” originated from fellow models at Nicola magazine, who shortened her surname Aragaki.
- The ending dance from Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu (The Full-Time Wife Escapist) became a viral meme across Japanese social media.
- In the 2004 Pocky commercial, she ran around holding a snack box — a scene that has since been endlessly turned into parody images.
- Her emotional crying scene in Koizora was shared so widely that comedy shows even made parody versions of it.
- In Papa to Musume no Nanokakan, she swapped roles with her “dad,” and her exaggerated expressions were clipped by fans into reaction images.
- The doctor uniform she wore in Code Blue has become a popular cosplay outfit during Halloween in Shibuya.
- While filming Legal High, she had to deliver extremely long legal lines — behind-the-scenes clips show her spitting them out almost like a rap.
- On her radio program GIRLS LOCKS!, she once burst into laughter mid-broadcast after misreading a song title.
- A “blank face” GIF of her from a variety show is still widely used as a LINE sticker.
- In Mixed Doubles, her ping-pong match scene was edited by fans into retro-style arcade game clips.
- During the 67th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen, viewers noticed her fumbling with the microphone — a “cute fail” moment that fans loved.
- At a film promotion event, she was asked to sketch her co-star; the result went viral because it looked unintentionally like a meme.
- In Kemono ni Narenai Watashitachi (Weakest Beast), her “tired of everything” expressions were screenshotted endlessly and turned into social media stickers.
- In WOWOW’s Fence, she hid inside a closet — fans quickly memed the scene as “escaping deadlines.”
- The 2023 poster for (Ab)normal Desire sparked a wave of parody edits with joke slogans and fake spin-off versions.
Photo Gallery
