Chieko Ochi

Chieko Kawabe (河邉 千恵子), born February 24, 1987, in Tokyo, is a Japanese singer, model and actress. She played Sailor Mercury in the Sailor Moon musicals and was Naru Osaka in the live action adaptation of Sailor Moon.

Several of her songs have been used in anime series and other television shows, from a localization of Lizzie McGuire to Ouran High School Host Club. She was born to a Japanese father and Spanish Filipino mother.

Career
Kawabe was involved in the Sailor Moon Musicals in 2000 when she was 12. She played Sailor Mercury and participated in five productions including the 10th anniversary special in 2002. She made guest appearances at Fan Kansha and released a DVD called Sera Myu. Afterwards, she handed her Sailor Mercury role to Wakayama Manami, but got involved in the live-action Sailor Moon drama as Naru Osaka in 2003.

Kawabe released the single "Be Your Girl" on April 27, 2004. This became the ending theme song to the anime Elfen Lied, and her other song, "Hoshi ni Negai wo" was the end theme song to Otogizoshi. She released "Shining" in 2004, and "Kizunairo" in 2005. The song "I Can't Wait", from the "Kizunairo" single was used as the theme song to the Japanese version of the show Lizzie McGuire. She released her first album, Brilliance in March 2005, and the single "Candy Baby" in July. Kawabe's next major single was "Sakura Kiss" which was the theme song for the anime Ouran High School Host Club. The single charted in Oricon, peaking at 71.

In addition to acting and singing, she has worked as a model, appearing in publications such as Tokuma Shoten's Love Berry magazine. She hosted a weekly show in Harajuku.

Since April 2016, she currently works as a certified Pilates instructor.

Personal life
Kawabe married producer Masato Ochi on August 8, 2008, and started using the name Chieko Ochi (越智 千恵子) during that time they were married in both public and personal activities. After 7 years of marriage, the couple amicably divorced in 2015. They have one daughter, who is under Ochi's custody.

Shortly after divorcing, she went back to using her maiden last name, but with different characters.

In November 2020, she announced on her blog the registration of her second marriage to an orthopedic doctor 5 years older after meeting in one of Kawabe's Pilates lessons. They celebrated their wedding in June 2021 at her husband's hometown in Hokkaido.

On June 1, 2022, she gave birth to her second daughter.