Erika Sawajiri was born on April 8, 1986 in Tokyo. She is a Japanese actress and model. She is affiliated with Stardust Promotion, and became popular after playing a girl who suffered from an intractable disease called spinocerebellar degeneration (SCD) in the nonfiction drama "1 Litre of Tears". Her music career debut was under the name "Kaoru Amane".