渡辺満里奈 | id

Marina Watanabe (渡辺 満里奈 Watanabe Marina; born November 18, 1970) is a Japanese actress, singer, and TV-personality. She was born in Ota, Tokyo, Japan and is currently married to Japanese comedian Jun Nagura. She is a former Japanese idol who is now particularly famous in her country for her books and tv-shows that express her widely-regarded sophisticated sense for fashion, travel, and personal health.

Marina Watanabe was born and raised within the Tokyo area. It is said that her father named her daughter "Marina", a rather unusual name for Japanese girls at the time, because he enjoyed yachting.

In 1986, she was discovered by star agents, and subsequently passed her audition tests to become an idol in the same year. Soon after, she became a member of a large idol group called Onyanko Club (Onyanko Club). It was during her time within the group that she made her debut. Her solo debut song "Shinkokyuu Shite" (Breathe Deeply) became a number one song on the Oricon charts, and later got her in the record books for setting the record for the youngest singer to have a number 1 Oricon hit (a record that stood for 15 years until it was broken by a member of the Morning Musume group in 2001). She was 15 years old at the time.

After the group was disbanded, Watanabe continued to participate in various variety shows as a singer. Initially she used mainstream idol clothing in her performances, however, because she decided to purchase her own clothes and design her performance style while abandoning traditional idol styles, she became even more popular. Later, she was found to have talent as a comedian, thus she decided to take on more diverse roles such as that of a variety show announcer with a comedic yet sophisticated touch. It was from this period on that others started to notice that she was trying to hide or down-play the fact that she once was a member of an idol group.

Throughout the 1990s she continued to build broad networks within the subculture genre of Japan as both an announcer and celebrity, which eventually led to her rising popularity.

Currently, she is famous in Japan for her essays and books concerning her hobbies of fashion, travel, and personal health. She is also known widely as a "Taiwan-know-all".

After marriage to her husband in 2005, her official name was changed to Nagura Marina, as she adopted her husband's surname "Nagura". However, she continues to work under her maiden name. .