:Karen Iwata

Iwata was born on May 13, 1998, in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. Her mother is Miwa Sugawara, who works as a TV personality in Sendai. As a child, Iwata and her mother appeared in local information programs together, and musicals. Iwata has made appearances in commercials as early as 6 months of age.{{Cite web|url=https://lineblog.me/iwata_karen/archives/13252687.html|title=生まれまして。 - 岩田華怜オフィシャルブログ|author=岩田華怜|date=2020-04-30|accessdate=2023-11-28|language=ja|archive-date=May 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200502004516/https://lineblog.me/iwata_karen/archives/13252687.html|url-status=dead}} She auditioned for AKB48, but the Tōhoku earthquake struck just before the final screening and she was affected by the disaster, so she considered withdrawing from the audition. However, the auditions were postponed, so Iwata continued to participate and was selected to join the group as a 12th kenkyusei (trainee) in April 2011.{{cite news|url=https://hochi.news/articles/20210306-OHT1T50255.html?page=1|title=【東日本大震災１０年語り継ぐ】元ＡＫＢ・岩田華怜 仙台で被災１週間後に最終審査挑戦 避難所訪問で「お帰り」横断幕に迎えられ「ふるさとの光になる」|publisher=Sports Hochi|date=March 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806230623/https://hochi.news/articles/20210306-OHT1T50255.html?page=1|archive-date=August 6, 2022|access-date=January 27, 2022|language=ja|url-status=live}}

In December 2011, Iwata auditioned for a role in the TV animated series AKB0048 and was selected to play the main character, Nagisa Motomiya.{{cite news|url=http://natalie.mu/music/news/61195|title=アニメ「AKB0048」公開オーディションで声優選抜9名決定|publisher=Natalie|date=December 13, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807132205/https://natalie.mu/music/news/61195|archive-date=August 7, 2022|access-date=November 29, 2011|language=ja|url-status=live}} As part of the anime project, she sang with eight other AKB48 members in the subunit No Name on the show's theme songs.{{cite web|url=http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/music/2010792/full/|title=AKBまゆゆら"声優選抜"が新ユニット「NO NAME」結成！ アニメ主題歌デビュー |publisher=Oricon |date=April 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807132601/https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2010792/full/|archive-date=August 7, 2022|access-date=November 29, 2012 |language=ja|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://news.mynavi.jp/news/2012/04/27/003/|title=TVアニメ『AKB0048』、主題歌は声優選抜メンバーのユニット"NO NAME"が担当 |publisher=My Navi|date=April 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018222031/https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20120427-a003/|archive-date=October 18, 2018|access-date=November 29, 2012|language=ja|url-status=live}} In March 2012, during the Saitama Super Arena concert, Iwata was one of the trainee members who were promoted to full AKB48 members in the new Team 4. She also participated on her first A-side, on the AKB48 single Manatsu no Sounds Good!.{{cite web|url=http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/music/2009075/full|title=AKB48、新曲選抜メンバーは過去最多36人 まゆゆ筆頭に次世代エース候補が台頭|publisher=Oricon|date=March 25, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014095047/http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/music/2009075/full/|archive-date=October 14, 2013|access-date=March 26, 2012|language=ja|url-status=dead}} In July 2012, Iwata was selected to host a TV program on NHK as part of a series to support the areas affected by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which included Sendai. She mentioned that she had lived in a shelter for a while before auditioning for AKB48.{{cite news|url=http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/movie/2014407/full/|title=AKB岩田華怜、中2でNHK冠番組 被災地支援番組ナビゲーターに決定 |publisher=Oricon|date=July 17, 2012 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20220807122218/https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2014407/full/|archive-date=August 7, 2022|access-date=November 29, 2012|language=ja|url-status=live}} On August 24, 2012, AKB48 had a major restructuring, in which Team 4 was dissolved, and Iwata was moved to Team A.{{cite web |url=http://www.akb48.co.jp/news/detail.php?id=7929 |title= Reformation of AKB48 in Tokyo Dome Concert |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121031045450/https://www.akb48.co.jp/news/detail.php?id=7929|archive-date=October 31, 2012|date=August 24, 2012 |language=ja|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2012/08/24/akb48-announces-tectonic-line-up-shift|title=AKB48 Announces Tectonic Line-Up Shift|date=August 24, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022222219/https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2012/08/24/akb48-announces-tectonic-line-up-shift|archive-date=October 22, 2016|last=Green|first=Scott| work=Crunchyroll|url-status=live}}

On January 5, 2016, Iwata announced she would be leaving the group.{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.jp/2016/01/05/karen-iwata-akb_n_8915212.html|title=岩田華怜がAKB卒業を発表。泣き崩れるメンバーも|publisher=Oricon Style|date=January 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108073424/https://www.huffingtonpost.jp/2016/01/05/karen-iwata-akb_n_8915212.html|archive-date=January 8, 2016|access-date=January 5, 2016|language=ja|url-status=live}} AKB48 held her graduation events for Iwata in March 2016.{{cite news|url=https://www.nikkansports.com/m/entertainment/akb48/news/1617199_m.html?mode=all|title=AKB岩田華怜が卒業「女優に向け」ホリプロ所属|publisher=Nikkan Sports|date=March 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807171901/https://www.nikkansports.com/entertainment/akb48/news/1617199.html?mode=all|archive-date=August 7, 2022|access-date=March 15, 2016|language=ja|url-status=live}}

Just before graduating from AKB48, she moved to the Japanese major talent agency Horipro. She has appeared in numerous stage productions, musicals, films and TV dramas, as well as appearing in concerts organised by Horipro, performing songs and dances from her AKB48 days. In June 2021, she appeared in a concert to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the 12th generation of AKB48, her first appearance in five years at an AKB48 theatre.{{cite web|url=https://ameblo.jp/akihabara48/entry-12678271793.html|title=AKB48 12期生10周年特別公演に関するお知らせ|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602163416/https://ameblo.jp/akihabara48/entry-12678271793.html|archive-date=June 2, 2021|access-date=January 27, 2022|publisher=AKB48|language=ja|url-status=live}} She played the role of Delphi Diggory in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in Tokyo from June 2022 to May 2023.{{cite web|url=https://www.harrypotter-stage.jp/cast|title=Harry Potter and the Cursed Child official website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807174124/https://www.harrypotter-stage.jp/cast|archive-date=August 7, 2022|access-date=January 27, 2022|publisher=TBS Television and Horipro|language=ja|url-status=live}}

She appeared as the lead actress in The Last Passenger, a film about the Tōhoku earthquake, for which she won the Best Actress Award at the Global Nonviolent Film Festival (2023). This was her first personal award in the field of acting.{{Cite news|author=Bailey Hiroe|url=https://www.newsweekjapan.jp/worldvoice/bailey/2023/11/post-60.php|title=舞台ハリーポッター卒業後、米国の映画祭で最優秀主演女優賞を獲得！岩田華怜がNYへ挑む|agency=Newsweek Japan|date=November 6, 2023|access-date=November 5, 2024|language=ja}}

Originally, she wanted to be an actress and dreamed of performing in musicals, especially on Broadway. After appearing on the Harry Potter stage, she began to study English again, and in 2024 she obtained a United States O-1B Visa and began her studies in New York City in June.{{Cite news|url=https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2352661/|title=元AKB48岩田華怜、留学先から緊急帰国 3年前の共演者「すごくキレイになってしまって直視できない」|agency=Oricon News|date=2024-11-04|access-date=November 5, 2024|language=ja}} In order to prepare for her studies in the U.S., she left Horipro at the end of June 2023, after which she is working on a freelance basis.{{Cite news|url=https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2284650/full/|title=元AKB48岩田華怜、ホリプロを6月で退所へ 今後はフリーで活動|agency=Oricon News|date=June 27, 2023|access-date=November 5, 2024|language=ja}}

Iwata attended the Faculty of Arts at Nihon University and graduated from Department of Photography in March 2023.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nikkansports.com/entertainment/news/202304210000321.html|title=元AKB岩田華怜、日大芸術学部卒業を報告「６年かかってしまったけど…」抱いていた葛藤明かす|newspaper=Nikkan Sports|date=April 21, 2023|access-date=November 28, 2023|language=ja}}

• "Manatsu no Sounds Good!"{{cite news|url=http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/music/2009050/full/|title=AKB48、過去最多36人で新曲初披露 HKT兒玉ら15人が初選抜|newspaper=Oricon Style|date=March 24, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807174651/https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2009050/full/|archive-date=August 7, 2022|access-date=November 28, 2012|language=ja|url-status=live}}

• "Kaze wa Fuiteiru"
• "Tsubomitachi" – Team 4+Kenkyūsei
• "Give Me Five!"
• "New Ship" – Special Girls A
• "Gingham Check"
• "Ano Hi no Fūrin" – Waiting Girls
• "Uza"
• "Tsugi no Season" – Under Girls
• "Kodoku na Hoshizora" – Team A
• "So Long!"
• "Ruby" – Team A
• "Sayonara Crawl"
• "Bara no Kajitsu" – Under Girls
• "Ikiru Koto" – Team A
• "Heart Electric"
• "Kaisoku to Doutai Shiryoku" – Under Girls
• "Kiss made Countdown" – Team A
• "Mae shika Mukanee"
• "Konjo" – Talking Chimpanzees
• "Labrador Retriever"
• "Kimi wa Kimagure" – Team A
• "Kokoro no Placard"
• "Sailor Zombie" – Milk Planet
• "Kibōteki Refrain"
• "Juujun na Slave" – Team A
• "Utaitai" – Katareagumi (Cattleya Group)
• "Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby"
• "Yasashii Place" – Team A
• "Kimi wa Melody"
• "M.T. ni Sasagu" – Team A

• "Kibō ni Tsuite" (August 1, 2012)
• "Kono Namida o Kimi ni Sasagu" (April 10, 2013)

• Majisuka Gakuen 2 (Final episode, July 1, 2011, TV Tokyo), as Rena
• Majisuka Gakuen 3 (Episode 8, September 7, 2012, TV Tokyo)
• Sailor Zombie (2014, TV Tokyo), as Milk Planet, Karen
• Majisuka Gakuen 4 (First episode, January 19, 2015, Nippon TV), as Masamune
• Majisuka Gakuen 5 (Episode Nine, October 6, 2015, Hulu), as Anison

• Solomon's Perjury (2015), as Saori Kawara{{cite web|url=http://www.cinematoday.jp/page/N0070334|script-title=ja:AKB48岩田華怜、元bump.y宮武祭が『ソロモンの偽証』に集結！|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810122210/https://www.cinematoday.jp/news/N0070334|archive-date=August 10, 2020|access-date=March 7, 2016|publisher=Cinematoday Inc.|language=ja|url-status=live |date=February 3, 2015 }}
• The Magnificent Nine (2016), as Kayo{{cite web|url=http://natalie.mu/music/news/161765|script-title=ja:AKB48岩田華怜、映画「殿、利息でござる！」で時代劇初挑戦|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151010014619/https://natalie.mu/music/news/161765|archive-date=October 10, 2015|access-date=March 7, 2016|publisher=Natalie|language=ja|url-status=live}}
• Saki Achiga-hen episode of Side-A (2018), as Seiko Matano{{cite web|url=https://mantan-web.jp/article/20171004dog00m200016000c.html|script-title=ja:咲-Saki-阿知賀編：実写版で桜田ひよりがドラマ、映画初主演 伊藤萌々香、小倉優香も出演|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807180741/https://mantan-web.jp/article/20171004dog00m200016000c.html|archive-date=August 7, 2022|access-date=January 25, 2022|publisher=MANTANWEB|language=ja|url-status=live |date=October 4, 2017 }}
• The Last Passenger (2023), as Mizuki{{Cite web|url=https://lastpassenger.net/|title=The Last Passenger|publisher="The Last Passenger" Production Committee|accessdate=2023-02-20}}
• Eternal New Mornings (2023), as Shoko Miyamoto{{cite web |url= https://eiga.com/movie/95595/|title= 有り、触れた、未来|access-date= December 17, 2022|work= eiga.com}}

• AKB0048 (April 29, 2012 – July 22, 2012), as Nagisa Motomiya
• AKB0048 Next Stage (January 5, 2013 – March 30, 2013), as Nagisa Motomiya/Atsuko Maeda the 14th

• {{nihongo|Tosugeki! Namaiki TV|突撃!ナマイキTV}} (2003 – 2010, Higashinippon Broadcasting)
• {{nihongo|Ariyoshi AKB Kyōwakoku|有吉AKB共和国}} (July 1, 2011 – 2016, TBS)
• {{nihongo|Shūkan AKB|週刊AKB}} (March 16, 2012 – 2016, TV Tokyo)
• AKBingo! (July 18, 2012 – 2016, Nippon TV)
• Ashita e 1 min "Karen no Fukkō Calendar" (August 28, 2012 – March 7, 2016, NHK General TV) — host
• Zenryoku Ōen! NHK-hai Fugure 2012: Ginban Athlete-tachi (November 11–15, 2012, NHK General TV, NHK BS1) — host

• Broadway Musical Footloose (September 15 – October 12, 2014), as Wendy Joe{{cite web|url=http://www.suisei-m.com/review/footloose/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821191104/http://www.suisei-m.com/review/footloose/|archive-date=August 21, 2009|title=Broadway Musical Footloose Official website|access-date=March 7, 2016|publisher=Suisei Musical|language=ja|url-status=dead}}
• Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (June 16 – July 16, 2016), as Aoi Asahina{{cite web|url=http://www.cornflakes.jp/dangan/2016/cast/|title=Danganronpa the stage 2016 official website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807181428/http://www.cornflakes.jp/dangan/2016/cast/|archive-date=August 7, 2022|access-date=March 7, 2016|publisher=Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.|language=ja|url-status=live}}
• Wake Up, Girls! Record of Green Leaves (Aoba no Kiroku) (January 19 – 22, 2017), as Megumi Yoshikawa{{cite web|url=https://www.famitsu.com/news/201610/23118851.html|title=メンバー全員が出演する舞台『Wake Up,Girls！ 青葉の記録』ビジュアル公開――追加キャストも発表！|date=October 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124070220/https://www.famitsu.com/news/201610/23118851.html|archive-date=January 24, 2022|access-date=January 24, 2022|publisher=Famitsu.com|language=ja|url-status=live}}
• Silent Möbius (March 29 – April 2, 2017), as Katsumi Liqueur{{cite web|url=https://ameblo.jp/oddstage/entry-12235253309.html|title=『舞台 サイレントメビウス キャスト・役名大公開！』|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106010831/https://ameblo.jp/oddstage/entry-12235253309.html|archive-date=January 6, 2017|access-date=January 24, 2022|publisher=Oddstage|language=ja|url-status=live}}
• CEDAR Produce vol.3 The Robbers (May 31 – June 3, 2018), as Amalia von Edelreich{{cite web|url=https://www.confetti-web.com/detail.php?tid=46430|title=CEDAR Produce vol.3 群盗|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705233823/https://s.confetti-web.com/detail.php?tid=46430|archive-date=July 5, 2018|access-date=January 24, 2022|publisher=confetti-web|language=ja|url-status=dead}}
• Kami no Kiba: Jinga (January 5, 2019), Guest appearance{{cite web|url=http://www.ginganen.com/%E9%8A%80%E5%B2%A9%E5%A1%A9vol-3/|title=GIN GAN EN » 銀岩塩vol.3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120001045/http://www.ginganen.com/%E9%8A%80%E5%B2%A9%E5%A1%A9vol-3/|archive-date=January 20, 2019|access-date=January 24, 2022|publisher=GINGAEN|language=ja|url-status=live}}
• CEDAR Produce vol.5 Demons (January 23 – 29, 2020), as Lizaveta Nikolaevna Tushina (Liza) {{cite web|url=https://www.confetti-web.com/detail.php?tid=55314|title=CEDAR Produce vol.5 悪霊|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124070223/https://s.confetti-web.com/detail.php?tid=55314|archive-date=January 24, 2022|access-date=January 24, 2022|publisher=confetti-web|language=ja|url-status=dead}}
• Brighton Beach Memoirs (September 18 – October 13, 2021), as Laurie Morton{{cite web|url=https://stage.parco.jp/program/brightonbeach/|title=PARCO PRODUCE ブライトン・ビーチ回顧録|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730121204/https://stage.parco.jp/program/brightonbeach/|archive-date=July 30, 2021|access-date=January 24, 2022|publisher=Parco|language=ja|url-status=live}}
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (June 16, 2022 – May 28, 2023), as Delphi Diggory

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{official website|1=https://iwa-fami0513.bitfan.id/|2=Official Fun Club}} {{in lang|ja}}
• {{IMDb name|5140883}}

{{AKB48}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iwata, Karen}}

Category:1998 births

Category:Living people

Category:AKB48 members

Category:Japanese female idols

Category:Japanese women pop singers

Category:Voice actresses from Sendai

Category:Singers from Sendai

Category:Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists

Category:Nihon University alumni

Category:21st-century Japanese women singers

Category:21st-century Japanese singers

Category:21st-century Japanese actresses

Category:Horipro