Her first name means "love" (Ai) and "child" (Ko)

2007-07-15T10:52:00.000-07:00

Born in Tokyo, Japan in 1979, Aiko Tanaka knew from a young age that she wanted to be a star. Her career began in elementary school as a model for catalogs and commercial ads. Wanting to pursue a career in acting, Aiko came to the U.S. and studied theater and dance during college. She danced professionally and eventually landed a spot as a recurring dancer on "Soul Train" (1999). During her pursuit of acting, Aiko was invited to attend numerous car shows, expos, and other events as a model. Simultaneously, Aiko appeared on television shows such as MTV's "The Grind" (1999), "Malcom & Eddie", "The Man Show", "My Wife and Kids" (2002), and "Howard Stern" (2003). She has also appeared in a handful of music videos (for Destiny's Child, The Offspring, Afroman) and feature-length films (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), Finishing the Game (2007), and more). More recently, she has done stand-up comedy and continues to pursue a career in film and television.