Nichole Sakura
{{Short description|American actress}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Nichole Sakura
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| alma_mater = University of Southern California (BFA)
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 2010–present
}}
Nichole Sakura (formerly credited as Nichole Bloom) is a Japanese-American actress best known for her roles as Cheyenne Thompson in the NBC sitcom Superstore (2015–2021) and as Emily Davis in the horror video game Until Dawn developed by Supermassive Games.
Early life
Sakura was born to a Japanese mother and an American father with Irish ancestry.{{cite web |date=6 April 2014 |title=Being "Shameless" with Nichole Bloom |url=http://thedodgy.com/2014/04/06/being-shameless-with-nichole-bloom-2/ |access-date=5 December 2015 |work=The Dodgy}} She was raised in San Francisco and usually spent her summers as a child visiting relatives in Japan.{{Cite web |title=IR Interview: Nichole Sakura For "Suzume" [Crunchyroll] |url=https://www.sirktv.com/irinterviews/ir-interview-nichole-sakura-suzume-crunchyroll |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=SirkTV }} She went to Santa Susana High School in Simi Valley and later attended the University of Southern California, from which she graduated after three years as a Theater major.{{Cite web |title=All Truth About Nichole Sakura – formerly Nichole Bloom |url=https://thebiography.org/all-truth-about-nichole-sakura-formerly-nichole-bloom/ |access-date=2023-08-08 }} After college Sakura briefly attended classes at The Groundlings Theatre but was cut from the program, which she considered "devastating."{{Cite web |title=Nichole Sakura - Sense of Freedom (Full video) |url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5IW_fRNILqI |access-date=2024-08-02 |website=YouTube }}
Career
She had the recurring role of Amanda on Shameless from 2014 to 2016.
In 2015, Sakura starred in the music video for one of Phantoms’ two singles, “Broken Halo,” from their EP of the same name.{{Cite web |title=Phantoms Broken Halo ft. Nicholas Braun |url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A9noIXSPM3s |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=YouTube }} Later that year, she was added to the main cast of the NBC sitcom Superstore as Cheyenne, a 17-year-old store employee who is pregnant at the start of the series.{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/news/a635292/shameless-actress-nichole-bloom-joins-nbcs-superstore/|title=Shameless actress Nichole Bloom joins NBC's Superstore|work=Digital Spy|last=Lee|first=Ben|date=March 13, 2015|access-date=September 22, 2016}} The series followed a group of employees working at Cloud 9, a fictional big-box chain store in St. Louis, Missouri.{{Cite web |title=Superstore - Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/superstore |access-date=2024-01-01 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}
She had voice roles in numerous animated film and television series, including Suzume, OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, Kiff, and Central Park.{{Cite web |title=Nanini |url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/tv-shows/OK-KO-Lets-Be-Heroes/Nanini/ |access-date=2023-08-08 }}{{Cite web |last=Rowan |first=Iona |date=March 24, 2023 |title=Superstore's Nichole Sakura lands next lead movie role |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a43409694/suzume-english-dub-nichole-sakura/ |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=Digital Spy}} In 2023, she had a recurring role as a ghost named Jessica on CBS' sitcom Ghosts.{{Cite web |last=Gelman |first=Vlada |date=2022-12-01 |title=Ghosts Welcomes Superstore Vet Nichole Sakura as Spirit Who Catches [Spoiler]'s Eye — 2023 FIRST LOOK |url=https://news.yahoo.com/ghosts-welcomes-superstore-vet-nichole-140018295.html |access-date=2024-01-01 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-US}} In November that year, Sakura starred alongside troupe Please Don’t Destroy in the comedy film Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain, directed by Paul Briganti and written by the former.{{Cite web |title=Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain
|url=https://m.imdb.com/title/tt21335356/ |access-date=2024-08-02 |website=IMDb }}
Personal life
Her stage name was originally Nichole Bloom (the last name derived from her Japanese name Sakura, for cherry blossom); she changed it to Nichole Sakura in August 2020,{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CD4ONqQpawz/|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/CD4ONqQpawz|archive-date=2021-12-24|url-access=registration|title=Nichole Sakura Instagram post|work=Nichole Sakura|last=Sakura|first=Nichole|date=August 14, 2020|access-date=August 14, 2020}}{{cbignore}} announcing through Instagram that she had changed her name for her acting credits to honor her mother and her Japanese heritage. She stated that she had taken her original stage name out of fear in being typecast into stereotypical Asian roles.{{Citation needed |date=October 2023}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2010
|Everyday |Nichole O'Connor |
| 2011
|Carpool |Rachel |Short film |
| rowspan="2" |2012
|JB's Girlfriend | |
| Model Minority
|Kayla Tanaka | |
| 2013
|Full Circle by Justin Chon |Nichole |Short film |
| 2015
|Man Up |Kayla | |
| 2016
|Annie Fenton |Main role |
| 2017
|Maggie Wittington | |
| rowspan="2” |2023
|Suzume Iwato |Voice; Main role, English dub{{cite web|last=Mateo|first=Alex|date=21 March 2023|title=Makoto Shinkai's Suzume Film Reveals English Dub Cast with Lead Nichole Sakura|website=Anime News Network|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2023-03-21/makoto-shinkai-suzume-film-reveals-english-dub-cast-with-lead-nichole-sakura/.196227|access-date=21 March 2023}} |
| Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain
|Amy Murphy | |
| 2024
|The Finnish Line |Elyse | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| rowspan="2" |2014
|Rinko |2 episodes |
| Grey's Anatomy
|Leanne |1 episode |
| 2014–2016
|Amanda |Recurring role; 17 episodes |
| 2015–2021
|Cheyenne Thompson |Main cast; 106 episodes |
| 2017–2019
|Carla, Pepelina, Nanini, Gecky, Bobo |Voice; 6 episodes |
| 2018–2020
|Various Characters |Voice; 2 episodes |
| 2020
|Olivia Mole |Voice; 1 episode |
| 2021–2022
|Louise |
| 2021
|Haru |Voice; Short film: The Village Bride: English language dub{{Cite web|date=2021-08-17|title=Stunning New Star Wars: Visions Trailer Debuts|url=https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-visions-trailer-and-cast|access-date=2021-08-17|website=StarWars.com|language=en-US}} |
| 2022
|Girl |Voice; 1 episode |
| rowspan="2" |2023
|(voice) |2 episodes |
| Ghosts
|Jessica |3 episodes |
| 2023–present
|Kiff |Terri Buns and Various roles |Voice; 25 episodes |
| 2024
|Elyse |Television film |
| 2025
|Royal-ish |Lacey Pope |Hallmark Channel Movie |
=Video games=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2015, 2024
|Emily "Em" Davis |Also performed motion-capture |
=Music videos=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Song ! scope="col" | Artist ! scope="col" | Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
| 2015
! scope="row"| "Broken Halo" | | |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|3783235}}
- {{Instagram|nicholesakura}}
- {{Twitter|NicholeSakura}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakura, Nichole}}
Category:Actresses from San Francisco
Category:American actresses of Japanese descent
Category:American film actresses
Category:American people of Irish descent
Category:American video game actresses
Category:American voice actresses
Category:Female models from California