Chiemi Hori

Born Chiemi Hori on 15 February 1967 in Higashi-ku, Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, the Japanese singer, actor and entertainer often known professionally as Chiemi (智栄美, ちえみ) launched her showbiz career in 1982 aged 14 and by 1984 had become of the country's most familiar idols, known for a slew of top five hits and popular dramas. She was chosen to perform in the prestigious NHK Red and White Song Festival while she was at the top of her game, however, things moved too quickly and she was forced to hang up her entertainer's cloak due to burnout in 1987. After a five-year break, she returned in 1989 but was unable to pick up where she left off, taking instead to hosting TV programmes and playing acting roles to little fanfare. She resumed her singing career in 2005 and performed her first solo concert in 18 years. In 2017, she performed at the Chiemi Hori 35th Anniversary Live ~Chiemi-chan Matsuri, held at Shinagawa Stellar. In February 2019, Chiemi Hori announced that she had advanced-stage tongue cancer and tumours on the lymph nodes on the left side of her neck. She underwent surgery to have the tumours and half of her tongue removed. However, she recovered and in August 2020, performed her first song after surgery on 24-hour TV 43.

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