Erika Sawajiri

Erika Sawajiri is a Japanese actress, model and singer. She appeared in the nonfiction Japanese television dramaLitre of Tears, playing the role of a girl who suffered from the intractable disease spinocerebellar degeneration .

Erika was born in Nerima, Tokyo to a Japanese father and an Algerianborn French mother of Berber extraction and is the youngest of three children. Her father owned sixteen racehorses, including Edonokoban , giving Erika ample opportunities to engage in horseback riding as a child. Her father disappeared from home when Erika wasyears old, returning when she was in her third year at junior high school, only to die from cancer that year. Her second eldest brother died in a traffic accident when she was in her first year at high school. Her eldest brother is a former actor. Her mother managed a Mediterranean restaurant that she sometimes worked at. The family is extremely close knit, and often used Erikas photoshoots and other work as an opportunity to travel together as a family.

Source: Wikipedia