Shirley Yamaguchi Biography

Fast Facts

• Began her acting career in China in the films "Honeymoon Express" in 1938 and "China Nights" in 1940
• After World War II, she was tried and nearly executed by the Chinese government for treason, causing her to be sent to Japan, where she had a successful singing and acting career in the postwar years
• Best known for her role as Mariko in "House of Bamboo" and as Miyako Saijo in "Scandal․"
• Was elected to the House of Councillors, the upper House of the Japanese parliament, in 1974 and remained in the position until 1992
• Was also known by the Chinese name Li Xianglan and the Japanese name Yoshiko Otaka
• Appeared in the short-lived Broadway musical "Shangri-la" in the 1950s
• In addition to her memoir "My Life as Li Xianglan," her life was also fictionalized in Ian Buruma's novel "The China Lover․"