Miyoshi Umeki Biography

Fast Facts

• First woman of Asian ancestry to win an Academy Award
• Moved to rural Missouri in her later years to be closer to her only son and his children
• The youngest of nine siblings to a wealthy family, she would begin her career as a nightclub singer in her native Japan following WWII
• After a brief stint on Broadway during the early '60s, she would guest star on numerous television series before retiring following the completion of her last starring role on ABC show "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" in 1972
• After recording various LPs in Japan during the early 1950s, she would sign with American-based Mercury Records in 1955 where she recorded numerous singles, all while earning more widespread fame on screen
• Rose to prominence in Hollywood after being discovered by filmmaker Joshua Logan following a stint on the "Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts"
• She and her second husband ran a successful film editing equipment business years after her official retirement from acting