Isuzu Yamada

Biography

Isuzu Yamada was a Japanese stage and screen actress born in Osaka on February 5, 1917, to a family of performers. She debuted as a film actress at age twelve in 1930 and quickly gained popularity for her portrayals of strong-willed modern girls in Kenji Mizoguchi's "Osaka Elegy" (1936) and "Sisters of the Gion". Yamada went on to become a star with directors Mikio Naruse, Yasujirō Ozu, and Akira Kurosawa, before shifting her focus to stage work in the 1950s. She died at age 95 in 2012.