Serena Motola

Serena Motola
モトーラ世理奈
Motola for DEW Magazine in November 2020
Born (1998-10-09) October 9, 1998 (age 26)
Tokyo, Japan
Alma materBunka Fashion College
Occupations
  • Model
  • actress
  • singer
Years active2014–present
Modeling information
Height167 cm (5 ft 5+1⁄2 in)[1]
Hair colorDark brown
Eye colorBrown
AgencyBox Corporation[1]

Serena Motola (モトーラ世理奈, Motola Serena, born October 9, 1998) is a Japanese fashion model, actress and singer. She signed with Box Corporation at age 16, and made her runway debut at the Amazon Fashion Week Tokyo F/W 2017 show. She is best known for being the face of Soen since 2017.

Motola landed her first feature film role in the coming-of-age drama Girls' Encounter (2018). She received critical acclaim in 2020 for her lead role in the drama film Voices in the Wind, for which she won the Kinema Junpo Award for Best New Actress, and was nominated for several other accolades.

Early life and education

Serena Motola was born on October 9, 1998 in Tokyo, Japan and is an only child.[1] Her father is an American national of Italian descent, and her mother is Japanese.[2][3] Her parents met in the United States, where her mother was working as a Japanese language teacher at the time before moving to Tokyo together.[4] As a child, Motola trained in hip-hop dance, all throughout elementary school and high school.[5] After graduating from high school, Motola enrolled at Bunka Fashion College to study fashion marketing and distribution.[6] She dropped out after her second year to focus on her modelling career.[5]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2017 Girls' Encounter Tsumugi [7]
2020 Voices in the Wind Haruka Sakura

Awards and nominations

Award Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.
Japan Film Critics Awards 2020 Best New Actress My Father, the Bride and Black School Rules Won
Nikkan Sports Film Awards 2020 Rookie of the Year Voices in the Wind Nominated
Mainichi Film Awards 2021 Sponichi Grand Prix Rookie of the Year Nominated
Kinema Junpo Awards 2021 Best New Actress Won [8]

References

  1. ^ a b c "モトーラ世理奈". Box Corporation. Archived from the original on September 24, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  2. ^ "話題のモデル・モトーラ世理奈、そばかすがコンプレックスだった過去「話すと雰囲気違う」"素顔"に反響 - モデルプレス". モデルプレス (Model Press) (in Japanese). April 10, 2018. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  3. ^ Ang, Engracia; Yap, Faustine (March 29, 2018). "5 Things to know about rising Japanese model Serena Motola". Be Asia. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  4. ^ "【モトーラ世理奈】そばかすが汚いといわれたモデルの魅力を追求！". mitsukidayori.com (in Japanese). May 13, 2022. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Ogawa, Tomoko (April 4, 2018). "【東京の女の子】GIRL no.1 モトーラ世理奈". The Fashion Post (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  6. ^ "Droptokyo×文化服装学院 | カレッジニュース". Bunka Fashion College (in Japanese). August 8, 2018. Archived from the original on May 29, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  7. ^ Ward, Sarah (April 11, 2018). "'Girl's Encounter': Hong Kong Review". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on August 17, 2023. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  8. ^ "Voices in the Wind: Awards & Festivals". MUBI. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Serena Motola.