Fukatsu Eri was born in the southern prefecture of Oita. She participated in the Miss Harajuku Grand Prix held in Tokyo's Harajuku neighbourhood at age thirteen and, upon winning it, quickly moved into the world of entertainment releasing singles and albums, appearing on the small and big screen and doing commercials for the likes of train companies. She released a photo book in 1989. As early as 1990 Fukatsu was the winner of the Newcomer Of The Year at the 13th Japan Academy Prize for the horror film A Kiss To Moonlight in that year. Eri performed using the Mizuhara Rie and Takahara Rie pseudonyms before reverting back to her own name. She would win many more awards including Best Actress at the Japan Academy Awards for her work in Villain and A Ghost Of A Chance. She was also successful overseas with her being named Best Actress at the 34th Montreal World Film Festival in 2010.
