Aya Ueto

is a Japanese actress, singer, model, tarento, and occasional radio personality. Born in Nerima, Tokyo, Ueto was discovered when she participated in the 7th Japan Bishojo Contest, where she won the special jury prize. At the age of thirteen, Ueto made her acting debut, in the film Satsujinsha: Killer of Paraiso (1999), and she and fellow Japan Bishojo Contest participants, Mami Nejiki, Mai Fujiya, and Manami Nishiwaki, formed the unsuccessful idol group Z-1. In 2002, after their disbandment, Ueto continued her music career as a solo artist, under the record label Pony Canyon, where she debuted with the single "Pureness."