Mari Natsuki

Mari Natsuki is one of those performers who just radiates danger and glamour, and I mean that as the highest compliment. She started as this smoldering, theatrical singer, then quietly stacked up real acting chops, snagging a Japan Academy Prize back in the mid-80s, and somehow that's not even the thing most people know her for. For me she'll always be Yubaba in Spirited Away, that voice you recognize in half a second, all velvet and menace. What kills me is that she never coasted, jazz, stage, screen, voice work, deep into her seventies and still looking cooler than people half her age. That's the part I love most. She makes getting older look like an art form rather than a surrender, and honestly, that's a vibe I'll chase forever.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

Mari Natsuki is a Japanese singer, dancer, actress, voice actress, and jazz musician born on May 2, 1952, in Toshima, Tokyo. She attended Toshimagaoka Girls' Junior and Senior High School. In 1984 she received the Japan Academy Prize for Best Supporting Actress, and has also been recognized with the Golden Arrow Award. She is widely known internationally as the Japanese voice of Yubaba in the animated film Spirited Away.

Name (English)

Mari Natsuki

Name (Japanese)

夏木マリ

Reading

なつき まり

Born

May 2, 1952 (age 74)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Taurus / Dragon

Origin

Toshima, Tokyo, Japan

Active years

1971 -

Occupation

Singer / Dancer / Actress / Voice Actress / Jazz Musician

High school

Toshimagaoka Girls' Junior and Senior High School

Awards & achievements

• Japan Academy Prize for Best Supporting Actress (1984)
• Golden Arrow Award (year unknown)

Spouse

斎藤ノヴ

Works summary

Appearances

315 (1971–2026)

By year

1971: 2, 1972: 2, 1973: 4, 1974: 10, 1975: 4, 1976: 4, 1977: 4, 1978: 4, 1979: 5, 1980: 2, 1981: 7, 1982: 6, 1983: 2, 1984: 3, 1985: 5, 1986: 7, 1987: 3, 1988: 1, 1989: 3, 1990: 2, 1991: 4, 1992: 3, 1993: 5, 1994: 3, 1995: 9, 1996: 4, 1997: 5, 1998: 2, 1999: 2, 2000: 4, 2001: 5, 2002: 5, 2003: 5, 2004: 6, 2005: 9, 2006: 9, 2007: 11, 2008: 9, 2009: 4, 2010: 10, 2011: 5, 2012: 6, 2013: 8, 2014: 10, 2015: 2, 2016: 8, 2017: 7, 2018: 7, 2019: 10, 2020: 8, 2021: 8, 2022: 3, 2023: 9, 2024: 4, 2025: 2, 2026: 2

Debut work

小さな恋 / (リトル・ラブ)

Filmography / notable works

• Official sitehttps://www.natsukirock.com/
• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/mari_natsuki/
• Xhttps://x.com/marinatsukides
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%8F%E6%9C%A8%E3%83%9E%E3%83%AA
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1190336

Tags

• From Tokyo
• Singer
• Dancer
• Actress

Last updated

2026-08-26

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Works and profile fields sourced from Wikipedia reflect content as of 2026-08-26. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.