Yukari Ōshima | |
---|---|
Born |
津村ゆかり (Tsumura Yukari?) December 31, 1963 Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan |
Other names | Cynthia Luster |
Years active | 1984 - 2005 2011 - present |
Spouse(s) |
Mark Cheng (1991 - 1995) Philip Ko (1995) |
Yukari Ōshima (大島ゆかり Ōshima Yukari?, born December 31, 1963) is a Japanese actress and martial artist. Oshima gained prominence in Hong Kong and became the female pseudo-counterpart of Jackie Chan in the country, making her a household name in Filipino families during that time.
Born Tsumura Yukari (津村ゆかり) in Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan, to a successful Japanese businessman and fashion designer and to a Chinese woman, Yukari began studying Gōjū-ryū Seigokan Karate at Ennouji Dojo in junior high.
She was one of Japan's brightest female martial artists during the 1980s and one of the leading ladies of the babes and bullets fad of Hong Kong action cinema. She's known as the role "Farrah Cat" in Bioman, which aired not only in Japan originally but also worldwide. She is best known to Western audiences as Yomi in Riki-Oh. After her Hong Kong career dried up, she left for the Philippines in the 1990s and used the stage name Cynthia Luster.
Oshima resides in Fukuoka, Japan, where she has promoted tourism in the city. She is commonly known to Western audiences as the actress in the Marlboro Lite commercials (in the late 1990s).