Horikita Maki

actress & model

playing piano

Seito Shokun

EXILE, SPEED and Hirai Ken

Libra

Maki Horikita (堀北真希), (born October 6th, 1988, in Kiyose, Tokyo) is a Japanese actress, an occasional radio show host and photobook model.
Maki Horikita started her acting career in 2003 as a U-15 idol and has since starred in a number of Japanese television dramas, TV and magazine ads, and films. Her breakthrough portrayals were her role as Nobuko Kotani, a shy and emotionally turmoiled character from the 2005 Japanese television drama, Nobuta O Produce and her role as Mizuki Ashiya, a girl who pretended to be a boy from the 2007 Japanese television drama, Hanazakari no Kimitachi E.
Childhood
Horikita Maki was born the eldest of three girls on 6 October 1988 in Kiyose, Tokyo, Japan. She tended to be boyish during her childhood days, like in middle school, she enjoyed playing basketball and baseball with her friends on holidays. While she was in junior high, she preferred to play Dragon Ball Z with the boys more than playing with the girls. This was because with the girls, she couldn’t play the princess the way she wanted in the princess make-believe games.
When she attended as a guest on KAT-TUN's variety show, Cartoon KAT-TUN, she stated that she loved imitating her mother.
Education
In her junior high years, she served as student council vice-president and basketball club vice-captain. She was also described as the “Boss of 3-C” in a number of various writings, in recognition of her status as class leader. As she became more active in the entertainment industry, she put her club and council activities on hold. Being unable to meet her many commitments and after much deliberation, she finally withdrew from her school activities, plainly concentrating on her studies and career.[1]
After completing her senior high education, she passed the entrance examination for Chuo University, known for its Law school, but it is uncertain whether she will study Law.

Career
Modeling
Later in 2003, Horikita started to model for various advertisements and star in TV dramas and films in supporting roles. Her first photobooks featured her as a mild-themed gravure model. However, her career in the said modeling field was indeed short-lived since she gradually dropped gravure-themed modeling when she started to get busy with TV appearances.
Her well-known commercials are her advertisements for Fujifilm (wherein she appeared alongside Japanese idol Nagase Tomoya) and Lotte (particularly for its sub-brands Ghana and Airs). Her current advertisements for the said chocolate brand are its Ice Yogurt and Shasha.
Horikita has appeared in numerous men's and teenage magazines, most of them featuring her on the cover.