Takeuchi Yuko Dead: The Japanese actress was 40 years old

Japanese actress Takeuchi Yuko was found dead by her husband, actor Nakabayashi Taiki, in their Tokyo apartment early Sunday morning. She was forty years old at the time of her death, the mother of two children, including a boy who was born in January.

Although Takeuchi did not leave a note, death by suicide is presumed. If that’s confirmed, Takeuchi’s disappearance would follow other recent suicides by renowned Japanese talents, including actress Ashina Sei earlier this month, actress Miura Harumi in July, and reality TV star Kimura Hana in May. Takeuchi’s official website on Stardust Promotion has yet to be updated.

Born in Saitama Prefecture in 1980, Takeuchi amassed a long list of credits in both television dramas and movies, as well as many national acting awards.

After debuting in the 1996 drama “Cyborg,” Takeuchi reached industry heights with lead roles in the 1999 NHK hit drama “Asuka” and the 2001 TBS drama “Love and Life in the White.”

His film career began with a supporting role in the 1998 J-Horror hit “Ring.” His first starring role was in the 1998 teen drama “Innocent World.”

For the next two decades, Takeuchi was in high demand for television and film roles, often playing characters on the comically silly side, such as the hospital investigator in Nakamura Yoshihiro’s 2009 mystery drama “The Triumphant Return of General Rouge.” . But she was also cast as the sharp detective in “Miss Sherlock,” a 2018 series co-produced by Hulu and HBO Asia and broadcast in 18 countries around the world.

In 2007, Takeuchi swept local best actress awards for playing a sassy, ​​free-spirited friend and surrogate mother to her married lover’s young daughter in Negishi Kichitaro’s “Dog In the Sidecar.” Most recently, she won a Japan Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the 2014 drama “Cape Nostalgia.”

The warm, smiling, female image of the town of Takeuchi also made her popular with advertisers, who used her as the face of many ad campaigns, with Panasonic, Suntory and Shiseido among their best-known clients.

His most recent film, the mischievous comedy “The Confidence Man JP: Princess,” was released in July.

If you or someone you know in the US is having suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Line at 1-800-273-8255 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources. In other territories, call your local suicide hotline.