Ayako Wakao (若尾 文子,Wakao Ayako, November 8, 1933 inTokyo, Japan) is a Japanese actress who was one of the country's biggest stars of the 20th century.^[1]

Ayako Wakao
Ayako Wakao in 1950s
Born	(1933-11-08)November 8, 1933 (age 91) Tokyo,Japan
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1952–present
Spouses	Hiroyuki Nishidate ​ ​ (m. 1963;div. 1969)​ Kisho Kurokawa ​ ​ (m. 1983; died 2007)​

Wakao began her career contracted toDaiei Studios in 1951 as part of the fifth "New Face" group. She has gone on to appear in over 100 feature films, plus numerous television movies and series. She was a favorite actress of directorYasuzo Masumura, starring in 20 of his films. In addition to her many collaborations with Masumura, she was a favorite ofKon Ichikawa, having starred or co-starred in seven of the director's works. She appeared inKenji Mizoguchi'sA Geisha andStreet of Shame.^[2] She also appeared inYasujirō Ozu'sFloating Weeds.^[3]Yuzo Kawashima made three filmsWomen Are Born Twice,The Temple of Wild Geese andThe Graceful Brute with her.

Wakao married architectKisho Kurokawa in 1983. They did not have children. In 2007, both ran unsuccessful campaigns for seats in theupper house of theJapanese Parliament, before Kurokawa died in October of that year.^[4]

• Ayako Wakao atIMDb
• Ayako Wakao at theJapanese Movie Database(in Japanese)