Leah Dizon
Encyclopedia
Leah Dizon is an American-born former gaijin tarento, singer, and model
in Japan. Born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada
, she moved to Tokyo, Japan in 2006 to pursue a career in entertainment. She made her recording debut on Victor Entertainment
later that same year.
on September 24, 1986. Her mother is of French descent and her father is half Filipino and half Chinese. Her parents work as casino dealers. Dizon is the fourth of six children: she has two older brothers, an older sister, and two younger brothers. In an interview, she explains that she listened to rock
and R&B music and trained in dance since the age of 12. Dizon has said that her mother was "very strict and monitored [Dizon's] spending habits". When she was 14 years old, she worked at a clothing store and eventually saved enough money to travel to Japan alone for a trip.
She attended the Las Vegas Academy of Performing Arts
for her freshman and sophomore years but graduated from the public Eldorado High School in 2004, where she became active in theater. At the age of 18, Dizon relocated to Los Angeles, California
and attended college as a film major for her freshman year.
for local car shows. Eventually, her photographs were posted online. It was reported that there were 2 million Google
hits within an entire year, with the majority of the viewers being located in China and Japan. Much of the attention received was attributed to her unique looks. She was asked by many Japanese fans—who had seen her photographs—to work in their country, which eventually prompted her to submit several demo tapes and dance videos to Victor Entertainment
. An agent offered and signed her to a recording contract.
In March 2006, Dizon moved to Tokyo and began Japanese lessons alongside voice training. She released her first photobook
, Petite Amie (which means "girlfriend" in French), in October 2006—Petite Amie was ranked as the third best-selling photobook of 2006 and 2007. A few pictorials for various magazines followed.
Dizon made her musical debut under Victor Entertainment on February 14, 2007 with the single "Softly". This was followed by "Koi Shiyō
", and "L・O・V・E U
". which also peaked at number 7 on the Oricon
Weekly Chart. The title track is described as a "grooving, up-tempo dance song" and the single features 2 B-sides: "Could you be that one?" and . Koi Shiyō was used in a Lotte
TV advert, while "Could you be that one?" was featured in a PlayStation 3
Ninja Gaiden Sigma
TV advert, with Dizon starring in both commercials. In September 2007, Dizon released her debut album, Destiny Line
, under Victor Entertainment. The CD+DVD Edition contains 14 tracks, 10 of which she penned herself on the single PVs alongside a special album PV "Again and Again". The CD+1 only edition contains the digitally-released remix of "Koi Shiyō", called "Koi Shiyō (Yasutaka Nakata-Capsule Mix)".
" and "Vanilla
" (both 2008). Her second album, Communication!!!
, was released in August 2008. "Under the Same Sky" was used as the theme song for the Japanese drama Tokyo Prom Queen. She made a guest appearance
on the show as Naomi, the prom queen from the previous year.
In February 2008, Dizon began dating her stylist Bun (born 1979), whom she had met while shooting the music video for Love Paradox. On October 10, 2008, while three months pregnant, Dizon married Bun in a traditional Japanese ceremony. These initial stages were chronicled and announced during her Communication!!! Album Tour several days after the marriage. Dizon was quoted as saying,
The couple's daughter, , was born on April 24, 2009. On February 14, 2010, Dizon appeared on live television and discussed making cookies for Bun. Subsequently, she confessed that their relationship had been aversive ever since the birth. That same month, she was featured in a spread for Glamourous Magazine, where she discussed motherhood and her hopes to return to the entertainment industry. It was her first magazine cover in nearly two years. On October 31, 2010, she announced that she and Bun had separated and filed for divorce earlier that month, and she was seeking full custody of their daughter. According to Dizon, the split was due to "busy schedules and inability to meet regularly differing opinions toward raising children" alongside "irreconcilable differences". According to a statement released on February 22, 2011 by Dizon's agency, Dizon received full custody of their daughter Mila and details of their arrangement were private. Their divorce was finalized in December 2010. Dizon currently resides in New York City
with Mila, where she is taking acting classes. Dizon has stated that she would like to return to Japan for work in the future.
In June 2011, Dizon filmed commercials in Manhattan
for Shonan Cosmetic Surgery Clinic. The commercials were released on August 17, 2011.
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
in Japan. Born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, she moved to Tokyo, Japan in 2006 to pursue a career in entertainment. She made her recording debut on Victor Entertainment
Victor Entertainment
is a subsidiary of Japan Victor Company that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It was formerly known as...
later that same year.
1986–2004: Childhood and youth
Leah Donna Dizon was born in Las Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
on September 24, 1986. Her mother is of French descent and her father is half Filipino and half Chinese. Her parents work as casino dealers. Dizon is the fourth of six children: she has two older brothers, an older sister, and two younger brothers. In an interview, she explains that she listened to rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and R&B music and trained in dance since the age of 12. Dizon has said that her mother was "very strict and monitored [Dizon's] spending habits". When she was 14 years old, she worked at a clothing store and eventually saved enough money to travel to Japan alone for a trip.
She attended the Las Vegas Academy of Performing Arts
Las Vegas Academy
The Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts is a magnet high school located in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. Students are accepted through an audition process and claim a "major" pertaining to performing arts, visual arts, or foreign languages.- Las Vegas High School...
for her freshman and sophomore years but graduated from the public Eldorado High School in 2004, where she became active in theater. At the age of 18, Dizon relocated to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and attended college as a film major for her freshman year.
2005–2007: Destiny Line, early work, and career debut
While living in Los Angeles, Dizon worked as a promotional modelPromotional model
A promotional model is a person hired to drive consumer demand for a product, service, brand, or concept by directly interacting with potential consumers. A promotional model can be female or male, and typically is intended to be attractive in physical appearance. They serve to provide information...
for local car shows. Eventually, her photographs were posted online. It was reported that there were 2 million Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
hits within an entire year, with the majority of the viewers being located in China and Japan. Much of the attention received was attributed to her unique looks. She was asked by many Japanese fans—who had seen her photographs—to work in their country, which eventually prompted her to submit several demo tapes and dance videos to Victor Entertainment
Victor Entertainment
is a subsidiary of Japan Victor Company that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It was formerly known as...
. An agent offered and signed her to a recording contract.
In March 2006, Dizon moved to Tokyo and began Japanese lessons alongside voice training. She released her first photobook
Photobook
A photo-book or photobook is a book in which photographs make a significant contribution to the overall content. The most critically acclaimed photo-books celebrate the creative work of an individual photographer, but can also result from the collaboration between a photographer and a writer, an...
, Petite Amie (which means "girlfriend" in French), in October 2006—Petite Amie was ranked as the third best-selling photobook of 2006 and 2007. A few pictorials for various magazines followed.
Dizon made her musical debut under Victor Entertainment on February 14, 2007 with the single "Softly". This was followed by "Koi Shiyō
Koi Shiyo
is the 2nd single of J-pop singer, Leah Dizon. It's Leah's most successful single up to date. It was released on May 30, 2007. The single is said to be 'a grooving, up tempo dance song.' The regular edition includes a bonus sixfold mini-poster, while the Limited Edition includes a bonus DVD which...
", and "L・O・V・E U
L.O.V.E U
"L・O・V・E U" is the 3rd single of J-pop singer, Leah Dizon. The title song was described as a "summer up-beat song" in initial press statements. It was released on August 8, 2007 and came in two versions, a limited edition CD+DVD version and a CD only version. The song was used as the Shueisha...
". which also peaked at number 7 on the Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
Weekly Chart. The title track is described as a "grooving, up-tempo dance song" and the single features 2 B-sides: "Could you be that one?" and . Koi Shiyō was used in a Lotte
Lotte (conglomerate)
Lotte Co., Ltd. is a South Korean-Japanese Jaebeol and one of the largest food and shopping groups in South Korea and Japan. Lotte was established in June 1948, in Tokyo, by Japanese-educated, Korean businessman Shin Kyuk-Ho – also known as...
TV advert, while "Could you be that one?" was featured in a PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
Ninja Gaiden Sigma
Ninja Gaiden Sigma
Ninja Gaiden Sigma, also known as Ninja Gaiden Σ, is an action-adventure game developed by Team Ninja for the PlayStation 3 video game console. Originally released on Xbox in 2004, it is an enhanced port of Ninja Gaiden and a continuation of a 1988 video game originally released for the Nintendo...
TV advert, with Dizon starring in both commercials. In September 2007, Dizon released her debut album, Destiny Line
Destiny Line
Destiny Line is the debut studio album by American-born Japanese pop singer Leah Dizon. It was released on September 12, 2007 by Victor Entertainment...
, under Victor Entertainment. The CD+DVD Edition contains 14 tracks, 10 of which she penned herself on the single PVs alongside a special album PV "Again and Again". The CD+1 only edition contains the digitally-released remix of "Koi Shiyō", called "Koi Shiyō (Yasutaka Nakata-Capsule Mix)".
2008–present: Communication!!!, marriage, and pregnancy
After the release of Destiny Line, Dizon continued with two singles: "Love ParadoxLove Paradox
"Love Paradox" is the 4th single from American born gravure model Leah Dizon. It was released March 26, 2008 and features an "internationally flavored pop upper." It came in two versions just like previous releases, CD only Version and Limited Edition CD+DVD Version...
" and "Vanilla
Vanilla (Leah Dizon song)
"Vanilla" is singer-song writer Leah Dizon's fifth single. It was released on June 25, 2008 and came in a Limited Edition CD+DVD version and a CD-only version which featured the bonus track "悲しみと笑顔の中で"...
" (both 2008). Her second album, Communication!!!
Communication!!!
-DVD Track listing:...
, was released in August 2008. "Under the Same Sky" was used as the theme song for the Japanese drama Tokyo Prom Queen. She made a guest appearance
Guest appearance
In show business , a guest appearance is a participation of an outsider performer , usually called guest artist , in an event , i.e., the participation of a performer which does not belong to the regular crew In performance...
on the show as Naomi, the prom queen from the previous year.
In February 2008, Dizon began dating her stylist Bun (born 1979), whom she had met while shooting the music video for Love Paradox. On October 10, 2008, while three months pregnant, Dizon married Bun in a traditional Japanese ceremony. These initial stages were chronicled and announced during her Communication!!! Album Tour several days after the marriage. Dizon was quoted as saying,
I have important news to tell you. I have actually got married! I'm pregnant, too. My family and I are very happy. Now, I think they'll have a lot of difficulties and changes. Of course, it is a little scary. But also, I am interested and looking forward to beginning a new life.
The couple's daughter, , was born on April 24, 2009. On February 14, 2010, Dizon appeared on live television and discussed making cookies for Bun. Subsequently, she confessed that their relationship had been aversive ever since the birth. That same month, she was featured in a spread for Glamourous Magazine, where she discussed motherhood and her hopes to return to the entertainment industry. It was her first magazine cover in nearly two years. On October 31, 2010, she announced that she and Bun had separated and filed for divorce earlier that month, and she was seeking full custody of their daughter. According to Dizon, the split was due to "busy schedules and inability to meet regularly differing opinions toward raising children" alongside "irreconcilable differences". According to a statement released on February 22, 2011 by Dizon's agency, Dizon received full custody of their daughter Mila and details of their arrangement were private. Their divorce was finalized in December 2010. Dizon currently resides in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with Mila, where she is taking acting classes. Dizon has stated that she would like to return to Japan for work in the future.
In June 2011, Dizon filmed commercials in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
for Shonan Cosmetic Surgery Clinic. The commercials were released on August 17, 2011.
Singles
- "Fever" (2006)
- "Softly" (2007)
- "Koi ShiyōKoi Shiyois the 2nd single of J-pop singer, Leah Dizon. It's Leah's most successful single up to date. It was released on May 30, 2007. The single is said to be 'a grooving, up tempo dance song.' The regular edition includes a bonus sixfold mini-poster, while the Limited Edition includes a bonus DVD which...
" (恋しよう♪) (2007) - "L・O・V・E UL.O.V.E U"L・O・V・E U" is the 3rd single of J-pop singer, Leah Dizon. The title song was described as a "summer up-beat song" in initial press statements. It was released on August 8, 2007 and came in two versions, a limited edition CD+DVD version and a CD only version. The song was used as the Shueisha...
" (2007) - "Love ParadoxLove Paradox"Love Paradox" is the 4th single from American born gravure model Leah Dizon. It was released March 26, 2008 and features an "internationally flavored pop upper." It came in two versions just like previous releases, CD only Version and Limited Edition CD+DVD Version...
" (2008) - "VanillaVanilla (Leah Dizon song)"Vanilla" is singer-song writer Leah Dizon's fifth single. It was released on June 25, 2008 and came in a Limited Edition CD+DVD version and a CD-only version which featured the bonus track "悲しみと笑顔の中で"...
" (2008)
Video game soundtracks
- "Everlasting Love" (Katamari Forever) (2009)
Film
- Traffic in the Sky (トラフィック・イン・ザ・スカイ) (2007)
- Kiba GaidenKiba Gaidenis a spin-off V-Cinema of the GARO television series, set for release on Blu-ray and DVD on September 7, 2011. A limited theatrical release will take place on September 3, 2011, in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district and on September 4, 2011, in Osaka's Umeda district at Cine Libre theaters.Actor and...
(呀＜KIBA＞ ～暗黒騎士鎧伝～) (2011)
Television
- Webtama as a co-host (2007)
- Sakigake Ongaku Banzuke Vegas as host (2007)
- J-melo as host (2007)
Plays
- Words Yakusoku / Uragiri: Subete wa ushinawa re shi mono no tame ni (2009)
- To drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima (2009)