As Chieko, the angry, sexually exploring, deaf-mute in director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s revelatory motion picture, “Babel” (2006), Rinko Kikuchi wowed critics with her Golden Globe nominated-turn in what, moviegoers were surprised learn, was her first American film.

Kikuchi was born on Jan. 6th, 1981 in Kanagawa, Japan. She started her modeling and acting career at the age of 15 under her real name, Yuriko Kikuchi, before years later, in May of 2004, changing her screen name to Rinko. After making her film debut in "Ikitai" in 1999, she went on to add more than a dozen movies and TV commercial films to her resume. She gave a particularly strong performance in “Hole Of The Sky” (2002) directed by Kazuyoshi Kumakiri and in “Tori/Kokorono Katana,” (2004) directed by Tadanobu Asano.

Kikuchi also appeared in “The Taste of Tea,” directed By Katsuhito Ishii, which was selected by The 57th Cannes Film Festival in 2004. In “Funky Forest: The First Contact” (2005) directed by Katsuhito Ishii, Hajime Ishimine and Shunichiro Miki, she portrayed a class president and showed her comical side.

Meanwhile, in 2004, Iñárritu began holding auditions in the quest to find Chieko for his latest American film, “Babel.” He knew the precise mix of defiance, desire and grief he was looking for would be tough to match, especially since he was seeking a hearing-impaired actress. When 24-year-old Kikuchi came in for a reading early on, Iñárritu was "blown away by her talent, but reluctant because she wasn't deaf,” he recalled. Though he continued to audition hundred of actresses for another nine months, Iñárritu remained haunted and captivated by Kikuchi, and eventually cast her. "No one came close to the spirit, sadness and isolation she captured," he explained.

Even before Gonzalez Iñárritu cast her, Kikuchi was so determined to get the part that she began taking lessons in sign language. “It was a very brave and wise decision,” notes Gonzalez Iñárritu. “Sometimes the magic and art of performance is about transformation." The Hollywood Foreign Press rewarded the young actress for all her hard work with a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her work in “Babel.” The Screen Actors Guild also admired the young actress’ fine work, bestowing up her a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role – Theatrical Motion Pictures. But nothing compared to the elation of getting her first Academy Award nomination, joining the likes of Adriana Barraza, Cate Blanchett, Abigail Breslin and Jennifer Hudson in the Best Supporting Actress category.