Christine Keiko Agena (born October 3, 1973)[1] is an American actress. She is mostly known for playing Lane Kim in Gilmore Girls and NYPD medical examiner Dr. Edrisa Tanaka on FOX's crime drama Prodigal Son (2019–2021).
Keiko Agena | |
|---|---|
| Born | Christine Keiko Agena October 3, 1973 |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Spouse |
Shinichiro "Shin" Kawasaki
(m. 2005) |
| Website | mskeikoagena |
Personal life
editThis section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (June 2023) |
Agena, of Japanese descent, was born in Honolulu, and began acting at the age of 10. She attended Mid-Pacific Institute preparatory school in Oʻahu, and Whitman College for one year as a drama major.
Agena married Shin Kawasaki in a helicopter over Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, on December 19, 2005.
Agena rides motorcycles, she arrives at the Warner Brothers studio lot on a Yellow 1970s Kawasaki Ninja 250.
Career
editAgena is best known for her role in Gilmore Girls, where she played Lane Kim, a Korean-American teenager who is the best friend of Rory Gilmore, one of the lead characters. Agena played this role despite being significantly older than her character, who was 16 at the start of the series, when Agena was 27. Agena has also played the role of Mearing's Aide, Mearing being played by Frances McDormand, in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Agena also appeared in three episodes of Felicity as Leila Foster, a girl who comes to the lead character for assistance in acquiring the morning-after pill and participates in a protest when denied the medication. She was a recipient of the Best Female Actor award in the Ammy Awards, which honor Asian and Asian-American achievement in film or television. She also provided the voice of Yori in the Disney cartoon series Kim Possible in seasons 2, 3, and 4 of the show. Also, Agena played Jun Ni in the movie Hair Show starring Mo'Nique. She guest-starred on Private Practice, Castle, and episode 12 of the final season of ER. She also appeared in Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous alongside Jessica Simpson as an army private. In 2010, she appeared onstage in No-No Boy in Santa Monica, California. She later appeared in an episode of House as Dr. Cheng.
While in Austin, Texas for the Gilmore Girls reunion panel at the 2015 ATX Television Festival, she also participated in two live tapings of the podcast Gilmore Guys,[2] as well as a live performance by Lane Kim's band Hep Alien.[3]
In September 2015, Agena launched Drunk Monk Podcast with fellow improv comedian Will S. Choi, wherein they watch every episode of the television series, Monk, while consuming alcohol.[4] Agena plays a high school teacher in the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why.
She was featured in commercials for Verizon Wireless ("Flipside Testimonials: Apartment") in 2015 and UnitedHealthcare ("Pool Vault") in 2016.[5][6]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Hundred Percent | Casey | |
| 2002 | Tomato and Eggs | Maria | Short film |
| 2003 | Cats and Mice | Sue | Short film |
| 2003 | Red Thread | Matilda Wong | Short film |
| 2003 | Western Avenue | Miya | Short film |
| 2004 | The Perfect Party | Kiko | |
| 2004 | Hair Show | Jun Ni | |
| 2006 | Chances Are | Heather | Short film |
| 2008 | Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous | Hailey Hamamori | |
| 2009 | Labor Pains | Pregnant Bookstore Woman | |
| 2010 | Road Rage | Connie | Short film |
| 2011 | I Hate L.A. | — | Segment: "Downtown" |
| 2011 | Transformers: Dark of the Moon | Charlotte Mearing's Aide | |
| 2012 | Lil Tokyo Reporter | Mrs. Sato | Short film |
| 2013 | Family Gathering | Charlotte | Short film |
| 2014 | Me + Her | Lead Puppeteer | Short film |
| 2015 | Unfriended | Computer | Voice role Short film |
| 2015 | The Night Is Young | Cara | |
| 2020 | The Never List | Jennifer Jeffries |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Renegade | Mitsuko | Episode: "Samurai" |
| 1995 | Sister, Sister | Student Interviewer | Episode: "Kid in Play" |
| 1998, 2009 | ER | Mrs. Shimahara Mrs. Vasquez |
Episodes: "Good Luck, Ruth Johnson", "Dream Runner" |
| 1999 | Beverly Hills, 90210 | The Competitor | Episode: "Agony" |
| 2000 | Felicity | Leila Foster | Episodes: "Revolutions", "Party Lines", "Running Mates" |
| 2000–07 | Gilmore Girls | Lane Kim | Main cast; 102 episodes |
| 2001 | The Nightmare Room | Janet Bingham | Episodes: "School Spirit", "Full Moon Halloween" |
| 2001 | Strong Medicine | An-Soo "Alison" Kim | Episode: "Control Group" |
| 2003–07 | Kim Possible | Yori (voice) | 4 episodes |
| 2006 | Without a Trace | Kimiko | Episode: "Odds or Evens" |
| 2007 | Private Practice | Sister Amy | Episode: "In Which Cooper Finds a Port in His Storm" |
| 2010 | Castle | Kelly | Episode: "The Mistress Always Spanks Twice" |
| 2010 | House | Dr. Cheng | Episode: "Unplanned Parenthood" |
| 2011 | The Homes | Nami | Unknown role |
| 2012 | Scandal | White House Press Secretary Britta Kagan | Episode: "Happy Birthday, Mr President" |
| 2013–14 | Twisted | April Tanaka | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Shameless | Brittany Sturgess | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | Grimm | Madoka Akagi | Episode: "Inugami" |
| 2016 | Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life | Lane Kim | 4 episodes |
| 2017 | Colony | Betsy | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | Sweet/Vicious | Title IX Officer | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Tara | Episode: "Getaway" |
| 2017–18 | 13 Reasons Why | Pam Bradley | 7 episodes Recurring role (Season 1); Guest role (Season 2) |
| 2017 | Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ | Tamamara | Episode: "Chelsea Leight-Leigh Lately" |
| 2018 | This Close | Dorinda | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | Here and Now | Sonni Little | 2 episodes |
| 2018–19, 2022 | Better Call Saul | Viola Goto | 6 episodes |
| 2018 | Dirty John | Nancy | Recurring role (season 1) |
| 2018 | The First | Aiko Hakari | Main role |
| 2019–2021 | Prodigal Son | Dr. Edrisa Tanaka | Main cast |
| 2022–2023 | Doom Patrol | Dr. Margaret Yu | 3 episodes |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Law & Order: Justice Is Served | Toki Yamamoto | |
| 2017 | Prey | Miyu Sato, Station Announcer |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Result | Category | Work |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Teen Choice Award | Nominated | TV Choice Sidekick | Gilmore Girls |
| 2002 | Young Artist Award | Won | Best Performance in a TV Drama Series - Supporting Young Actress | Gilmore Girls |
| 2002 | Teen Choice Award | Nominated | TV Choice Sidekick | Gilmore Girls |
| 2003 | Teen Choice Award | Nominated | TV Choice Sidekick | Gilmore Girls |
| 2013 | Asians on Film Festival | Won | Winter Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Short | Lil Tokyo Reporter |
| 2014 | Asians on Film Festival | Nominated | Short Film | Lil Tokyo Reporter |
References
edit- ^ Keiko Agena official site: Date of birth. Archived 2007-04-28 at the Wayback Machine; URL accessed April 27, 2007.
- ^ Mlotek, Haley (July 13, 2015). "Why the 'Gilmore Girls' Fandom Lives On". New York Times.
- ^ "Hep Alien Reunion". Huffington Post. June 8, 2015.
- ^ "Drunk Monk Podcast". Soundcloud. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
- ^ Verizon TV Commercial, "Flipside Testimonials: Apartment" (2015) – iSpot.tv. Retrieved October 2, 2019
- ^ UnitedHealthcare TV Commercial, "Pool Vault" (2016) – iSpot.tv. Retrieved October 2, 2019