Becky (television personality)

Rebecca Eri Rabone (レベッカ・英里・レイボーン, Rebekka Eri Reibōn, born 6 March 1984), better known mononymously as Becky (ベッキー, Bekkī), is a Japanese entertainer signed to GATE. Since 2009, she has recorded music under the stage name Becky♪♯.

Becky
ベッキー
Born
Rebecca Eri Rabone

(1984-03-06) 6 March 1984 (age 40)
Other namesBecky♪♯ (ベッキー♪♯, Bekkī)
Alma materAsia University (BBA)
Occupations
  • Singer
  • Actress
Years active1998–present
AgentGATE
Spouse
(m. 2019)
Children2
Websitewww.becky.ne.jp

Biography

edit

Becky was born in Kanagawa Prefecture to a Japanese mother and an English father, Simon Rabone.[1][2] She has one younger sister, dancer Jessica "JJ" Rabone.[3][4] Until at least 2011, Becky held dual citizenship status in both Japan and the United Kingdom.[5] She graduated from Tokyo's Asia University with a degree in business administration on 15 March 2006.[6]

Although The Japan Times previously erroneously reported her full name as "Rebecca Eri Ray Vaughan",[7] Australian airline Jetstar Airways, having used her in advertisements and promotions aimed towards Japanese audiences,[8] gives her full name as being "Rebecca-Eri Rabone",[9] this surname matching that used by her father and sister; the error arises from the fact that 'Rabone' and 'Ray Vaughan' would be spelled the same way in Japanese.[10][11]

Career

edit

She debuted as a regular on the popular children's show Oha-Suta in 1999 reading out the English names of various Pokémon characters in a section of the show called Pokémon: The World. She became a popular mascot of the show, and eventually started landing spots on various Japanese variety shows. On television, she has also appeared in numerous commercials and has lent her voice to the characters of many anime shorts and movies.

In January 2016, Becky's reputation as Japan's most popular female personality took a hit after Japanese tabloid Shūkan Bunshun revealed that she had an affair with musician Enon Kawatani who at the time was married. Following the scandal, Kawatani announced that he officially divorced his wife. In order to appease the public backlash and as a condition for her comeback to show business in Japan, Becky tried to officially apologize to Kawatani's wife. However, having no direct channel to her, Becky contacted the Shūkan Bunshun's editorial department instead. Shukan Bunshun published the full contents of Becky’s letter at the end of April 2016.[12] The letter acknowledged her affair yet also implied that she had not seen Kawatani since the scandal broke and that she no longer had feelings for him. As a result of her apologies, Becky was to make her comeback with an appearance on TBS. In her first appearance back on TV, she appeared on Full Chorus - Music is Full Chorus on the cable channel BS Skyperfect TV.[13]

Personal life

edit

On 13 February 2019, Becky announced that she had married Yomiuri Giants coach Yasuyuki Kataoka.[14][15]

On 17 March 2020 The couple announced the birth of their first child,[16] and their second child was born on 20 August 2021.[17][18]

Filmography

edit

Variety shows

edit

Becky is currently a regular panelist on the following programs:

Television series

edit

Film

edit

Japanese dub

edit
Live-action
Animation

Discography

edit

In addition to her work as an actress and model, Becky has also had several musical releases. Beginning in late 2009, Becky began recording under the name "Becky♪♯" (ベッキー♪♯, Bekkī), and her first single under EMI Music Japan debuted in the top 10 of the Oricon's Daily and Weekly Charts.[22]

Albums

edit
Title Release date
Kokoro no Hoshi (心の星) 24 February 2010 (2010-02-24)
Kaze to Melody (風とメロディー, Kaze to Merodī) 13 July 2011 (2011-07-13)

Singles

edit
Stage name Title Release date Notes Album
Becky "Sora Tobu Pokémon Kids" (
そらとぶポケモンキッズ
, Sora Tobu Pokémon Kizzu)
17 July 1999 (1999-07-17) N/A
"Densetsu no Stafy" (
伝説のスタフィー
, Densetsu no Sutafī)
4 September 2002 (2002-09-04) Densetsu no Stafy theme
"Sarara" (
さらら
)
4 December 2002 (2002-12-04)
"Horiken Size II" (
ホリケンサイズII
, Horiken Saizu II)
12 March 2003 (2003-03-12)
"Hello! Thank You!" (
ハロー!サンキュー!
, Harō! Sankyū!)
29 April 2005 (2005-04-29) Pokémon The Park theme
"Himawari" (
向日葵
)
22 February 2006 (2006-02-22)
Becky♪♯ "Kokoro Komete" (
心こめて
)
2 December 2009 (2009-12-02) B-side serves as Crayon Shin-chan theme Kokoro no Hoshi
"Suki Dakara" (
好きだから
)
3 February 2010 (2010-02-03)
"Emerald" (
エメラルド
, Emerarudo)
20 July 2010 (2010-07-20) How to Train Your Dragon Japanese theme Kaze to Melody
"Fuyusora no Love Song" (
冬空のLove Song
)
1 December 2010 (2010-12-01) Happy Music theme
Goocky (グッキー, Gukkī) "Good Lucky!!!!!" 2 March 2011 (2011-03-02) Universal Studios Japan 10th anniversary theme, Collaboration with Greeeen
Becky♪♯ "Kaze no Shirabe" (
風のしらべ
)
15 June 2011 (2011-06-15) Universal Studios Japan 10th anniversary summer TV commercial song
"Yaruki Switch" (
ヤルキスイッチ
, Yaruki Suitchi)
27 June 2012 (2012-06-27) Onegai! Ranking July ending theme TBA
"My Friend ~Arigato~" (MY FRIEND ~ありがとう~, MY FRIEND ~Arigatō~) 12 December 2012 (2012-12-12) B-side used for "Vis" advertisement campaign

Other appearances

edit
  • Act4 (8 December 2004)
    • Features the songs "Himawari", "Deco Boco", and "Chocorate" off of her single "Himawari"
  • Tribute to Avril Lavigne: Master's Collection (25 October 2006)
  • Yesterday Once More: Tribute to the Carpenters

Awards

edit
Year Award Category Work(s) Result Ref.
2020 45th Hochi Film Awards Best Supporting Actress First Love Nominated [23]
2021 75th Mainichi Film Awards Best Supporting Actress Nominated [24]
63rd Blue Ribbon Awards Best Supporting Actress Nominated [25]

References

edit
  1. ^ http://aviation-business-gazette.com/A13/B72/Pilot-Simon-Charles-Rabone-Kawasaki-Kanagawa-.html[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "べき子製鉄所/所長". Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  3. ^ "世界の果てまでイッテQ!". 11 May 2008. Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  4. ^ "JJ Raboneジェシカ (@jjrabone) • Instagram photos and videos". Instagram. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  5. ^ "ゲスト ベッキー♪# | 関西コレクション/KANSAI COLLECTION/2011 AUTUMN-WINTER/関コレオフィシャルweb". Retrieved 14 November 2011.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ nikkansports.com Archived 3 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine 16 March 2006 経営学部に入学,亜大卒業
  7. ^ "SMAP dodges bullet; Becky isn't so lucky". Japan Times. 23 January 2016. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  8. ^ Easdown, Geoff (1 January 2009). "Against all odds, Jetstar rocks Japan". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
  9. ^ "Jetstar Enlists Japanese Icon 'Becky' to Boost Gold Coast Tourism". etravelblackboardasia.com. 12 November 2008. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  10. ^ Ciplex. "Jessica Rabone". Clear Talent Group. Archived from the original on 23 January 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  11. ^ Young, Sage (22 June 2015). "Jessica Rabone Wows The Panel With Her Quirkiness". Bustle. Archived from the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  12. ^ "End of a saga: Becky to return to showbiz; Kawatani divorces wife following scandal". Japan Today. 10 May 2016. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  13. ^ "Talent Becky officially returns to Japanese TV after affair controversy". Japan Today. 6 July 2016. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  14. ^ "ベッキー、巨人・片岡コーチとの結婚発表「感謝の気持ちを忘れず」 1月に婚姻届提出 - スポニチ Sponichi Annex 芸能". スポニチ Sponichi Annex (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  15. ^ Kishimoto, Yu (13 February 2019). "TV personality Becky tweets she has married Yomiuri Giants coach Kataoka". Mainichi Daily News. Tokyo. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  16. ^ "ベッキー、第1子出産を報告". mdpr.jp. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  17. ^ "ベッキー、今年春に第2子を出産していた". mdpr.jp. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  18. ^ "ベッキー第2子妊娠、安定期に入り4月から産休へ". サンスポ (in Japanese). 14 March 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  19. ^ "ミュータント・タートルズ(2014)". Star Channel. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  20. ^ "ザ・ファイター[吹]". Star Channel. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  21. ^ "モンスターVSエイリアン". Star Channel. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  22. ^ "歌手デビューのベッキー♪♯が初のTOP10入り". Oricon (in Japanese). 8 December 2009. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
  23. ^ "【報知映画賞】主演男優賞の二宮和也など「浅田家!」が最多8ノミネート". Sports Hochi. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  24. ^ "最多は『スパイの妻』!第75回毎日映画コンクールノミネート発表". Cinematoday. 22 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  25. ^ "嵐・二宮和也主演の「浅田家!」が最多5部門でノミネート「第63回ブルーリボン賞」各部門候補を発表". The Chunichi Shimbun. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
edit