is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese actress and stunt woman, martial artist, fight choreographer, and former female bodybuilder and powerlifter. She played stunt double for Lucy Liu

Lucy Liu

Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress and film producer. She became known for playing the role of the vicious and ill-mannered Ling Woo in the television series Ally McBeal , and has also appeared in several Hollywood films including Charlie's Angels, Chicago, Kill Bill, and Kung Fu Panda.-Early...

 in the film Charlie's Angels

Charlie's Angels (film)

Charlie's Angels is a 2000 American action comedy film directed by McG, starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu as three women working for a private investigation agency...

.

Michiko Nishiwaki was born in Funabashi, Chiba

Funabashi, Chiba

is a city located in northwestern Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2011, the city had an estimated population of 609,157 and a population density of 7110 persons per km². The total area was 85.64 km². It is the 7th most populous city in Greater Tokyo....

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. As a teenager growing up in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, she was interested in gymnastics

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...

 and volleyball

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

. She became interested in bodybuilding when she grew dissatisfied with her body image

Body image

Body image refers to a person's perception of the aesthetics and sexual attractiveness of their own body. The phrase body image was first coined by the Austrian neurologist and psychoanalyst Paul Schilder in his masterpiece The Image and Appearance of the Human Body...

, regarding her legs as too heavy compared to her upper body.
Another turning point was her father's death, which motivated her to have her own say in the planning of her future.

Unusually in the Japanese society of the time, Michiko became a powerlifter and eventually Japan's first female powerlifting champion and first female bodybuilding champion. She opened three fitness clubs co-owned by her brother.

Her acting career began in the 1985 Hong Kong martial arts/comedy film My Lucky Stars

My Lucky Stars

My Lucky Stars is a 1985 Hong Kong action comedy film, directed by Sammo Hung. It is the second film in the Lucky Stars series...

after she caught the attention of Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...

 and Sammo Hung

Sammo Hung

Sammo Hung is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and director, known for his work in many martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema...

. She played a Japanese fighter. She also appeared in films such as The Line of Duty III in 1988, City Cops, Princess Madam and God of Gamblers

God of Gamblers

God of Gamblers is a 1989 Hong Kong action comedy-drama film written and directed by Wong Jing, and featuring an ensemble cast.- Synopsis :Chow Yun-fat plays Ko Chun, an extremely talented and well known gambler...

in 1989. She was quickly typecast, playing villains and femme fatales in most of her Hong Kong films. At times she didn't use a word of dialogue (since she couldn't speak Cantonese

Standard Cantonese

Cantonese, or Standard Cantonese, is a language that originated in the vicinity of Canton in southern China, and is often regarded as the prestige dialect of Yue Chinese....

 well at the time). After returning to Japan, she went to Thailand to star in Whore and the Policewoman in 1993. She appeared in the 1999 film Man on the Moon starring Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey

James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...

, and did stunts for Hollywood films such as Red Corner

Red Corner

Red Corner is a drama film produced in 1997, directed by Jon Avnet and written by Robert King.- Plot :It tells the story of a wealthy American businessman named Jack Moore working in China and attempting to put together a satellite communications deal as part of a joint venture with the Chinese...

, Blade

Blade (film)

Blade is a 1998 vampire superhero action horror starring Wesley Snipes and Stephen Dorff, loosely based on the Marvel Comics character Blade. The film was directed by Stephen Norrington and written by David S. Goyer. Blade grossed $70 million at the U.S. box office, and $131.2 million worldwide...

, Charlie's Angels and Rush Hour 2

Rush Hour 2

Rush Hour 2 is a 2001 martial arts action comedy film. This is the second installment in the Rush Hour film series. A sequel to the 1998 film Rush Hour, the film stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker who respectively reprise their roles as Inspector Lee and Los Angeles police detective James Carter...

. Michiko married in 1996 and currently lives in Moorpark, California with her husband and son.

Filmography

Acting Credits

• Ghost Rock (2004)
• Man on the Moon (1999)
• Lethal Weapon 4
  Lethal Weapon 4
  Lethal Weapon 4 is a 1998 American action film directed by Richard Donner, starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo, Chris Rock and Jet Li. It is the third sequel in the Lethal Weapon series of films. -Plot:...
  
  (1998)
• Top Fighter 2 (1996)
• Ging fa yu lau ang (1993)(Whore and Policewoman)
• Fatal Seduction (1993)
• City on Fire
  City on Fire (1993 film)
  -Cast:* Michiko Nishiwaki as Chia-Chi* Mark Cheng as Wei-Ming* Kong Tai-Chuen as Chiang* Lung Fei * Tai Po as Chien* Wu Ma as Police Chief-External links:* * *...
  
  (1993)
• Yin yao hao qing (1993) (Hero Dream aka Naked Huntress)
• Ba hai hong ying (1992) (The Avenging Quartet)
• Raiders of Loesing Treasure (1992) (Treasure Hunters)
• Huo bao da quan zi (1992) (Big Circle Blues)
• Sing je wai wong (1992) (The Mighty Gambler)
• Yun yu di liu gan (1992) (Passionate Killing in the Dream)
• The Real Me (1991)
• Se jiang (1991) (Witchcraft vs. Curse)
• Zui jia zei pai dang (1990) (The Outlaw Brothers)
• Magic Cop
  Magic Cop
  Magic Cop aka. Kui moh ging chaat or Qu mo jing cha, Mr. Vampire 5 is a 1990 Hong Kong film produced by and starring Lam Ching-ying.-Plot:...
  
  (1990)
• The Best of the Martial Arts Films (1990)
• Free Fighter (1990)
• Hong tin huang jia jiang (1990) (Angel Terminators)
• Dragon Fighter (1990) (Hard to Kill)
• Jin pai shi jie (1990) (Princess Madam)
• Time Burst: The Final Alliance (1989)
• God of Gamblers
  God of Gamblers
  God of Gamblers is a 1989 Hong Kong action comedy-drama film written and directed by Wong Jing, and featuring an ensemble cast.- Synopsis :Chow Yun-fat plays Ko Chun, an extremely talented and well known gambler...
  
  (1989)
• Hu dan nu er gang (1989) (Widow Warriors)
• Miao tan shuang long (1989) (City Cops)
• Tie dan xiong feng (1989) (Live Hard)
• In the Line of Duty III (1988)
• Ojôsan tantei Tokimeki renpatsu! (1987) (Young Lady Detectives: Heart Beat!)
• Jikuu Senshi Spielban
  Jikuu Senshi Spielban
  is a Japanese tokusatsu television series, part of the Metal Hero Series created by Toei Co. Ltd. from April 7, 1986 to March 9, 1987. Spielban's action footage was used for the battle scenes in VR Troopers....
  
  (1986) (TV) (Dimensional Warrior Spielban)
• My Lucky Stars
  My Lucky Stars
  My Lucky Stars is a 1985 Hong Kong action comedy film, directed by Sammo Hung. It is the second film in the Lucky Stars series...
  
  (1985)

Stunt / Stunt Double appearances

• Mission: Impossible III (2006)
• Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
• Collateral (2004)
• Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
• Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
• The Scorpion King (2002)
• Clockstoppers (2002)
• The Practice - M. Premie Unplugged (TV Series) (2002)
• Rush Hour 2 (2001)
• V.I.P -Crouching Tiger, Hidden Val (TV Series(24 November 2001)
• Chain of Command (2000)
• Play It to the Bone (1999)
• Man on the Moon (1999)
• Fantasy Island: Estrogen (31 October 1998)
• "Martial Law" (TV Series) (1998–2000)
• Blade (1998)
• Brave New World (1998)
• Red Corner (1997)

External links

• HK cinemagic entry