Emily Kuroda
Encyclopedia
Emily Kuroda is best known for her role as Mrs. Kim on TV's Gilmore Girls
, but she has had a long career on stage and screen and is a veteran of East West Players
, Los Angeles
' premier Asian American theater group.
, the daughter of Kay and William Kuroda. She began acting and directing in high school and majored in drama at Fresno State University
before launching her career on stage and screen. Currently, she stars as "Su Ho" on the new MyNetworkTV
sitcom Under One Roof
starring Flavor Flav
.
Kuroda has performed in numerous plays including Luis Alfaro
's Straight as a Line at Playwrights' Arena, directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera, Chay Yew
's Red at East West Players
, Winter People at the Boston Court, and Ken Narasaki
's Innocent When You Dream at the Electric Lodge, which was directed by her husband, Alberto Isaac. She appeared in Narasaki's No-No Boy
at the Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa Monica CA, also directed by Isaac, alongside her Gilmore Girls daughter, Keiko Agena
. Other theatres include New York's Public Theater
, La Jolla Playhouse
, Seattle Rep, Singapore Repertory Theatre
, Berkeley Repertory Theatre
, LA Women's Shakespeare Company, Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival, and Lodestone Theatre Ensemble
.
Kuroda completed seven years as Mrs. Kim in Warner Brothers’ Gilmore Girls and 13 episodes of Under One Roof with Flavor Flav. Recent television credits include "Drop Dead Diva
(Margaret Cho's mother)", The Medium, Grey's Anatomy, In Case of Emergency
, Six Feet Under, The King of Queens
, Curb Your Enthusiasm
, The Practice
, General Hospital
, Port Charles
, L.A. Law
, ER
, The Young and the Restless
, The Bold and the Beautiful
, The Division
, The Agency, Presidio Med
, Arliss
, and the television special
About Love
(Emmy
nominated). Feature films include RED, PEEP WORLD, Minority Report
, Stranger Inside
, 2 Days in the Valley
, Dad
, Broken Words, Worth Winning and Shopgirl
. She has also appeared in independent
Asian American
films, including The Sensei
, Yellow
and Stand Up for Justice.
Emily is married to actor/director Alberto Isaac. She has two brothers, Paul Kuroda (an award-winning photographer in Oakland, California) and her younger brother Douglas Kuroda, an electrician in Fresno, California.
Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
, but she has had a long career on stage and screen and is a veteran of East West Players
East West Players
East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As one of the nation's first Asian American theatre organizations, East West Players today continues to produce works and educational programs that give voice to the Asian Pacific American...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
' premier Asian American theater group.
Life and career
Kuroda was born in Fresno, CaliforniaFresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
, the daughter of Kay and William Kuroda. She began acting and directing in high school and majored in drama at Fresno State University
California State University, Fresno
California State University, Fresno, often referred to as Fresno State University and synonymously known in athletics as Fresno State , is one of the leading campuses of the California State University system, located at the northeast edge of Fresno, California, USA.The campus sits at the foot of...
before launching her career on stage and screen. Currently, she stars as "Su Ho" on the new MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
sitcom Under One Roof
Under One Roof
Under One Roof may refer to:In television:* Under One Roof , an American comedy series previously titled Spencer* Under One Roof , a Japanese series...
starring Flavor Flav
Flavor Flav
William Jonathan Drayton, Jr. , better known by his stage name Flavor Flav, is an American rapper and television personality who rose to prominence as a member of the rap group Public Enemy...
.
Kuroda has performed in numerous plays including Luis Alfaro
Luis Alfaro
Luis Alfaro is a renowned Chicano performance artist, writer, theater director, and social activist. His plays and fiction are set in Los Angeles's Chicano barrios, including the Pico Union district, and often feature gay and lesbian and working-class themes. Many of Alfaro's plays also deal with...
's Straight as a Line at Playwrights' Arena, directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera, Chay Yew
Chay Yew
Chay Yew is a playwright and stage director who was born in Singapore. As of 2007 he lives in New York City. As of July 2011, he becomes Artistic Director of Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago.-Career:...
's Red at East West Players
East West Players
East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As one of the nation's first Asian American theatre organizations, East West Players today continues to produce works and educational programs that give voice to the Asian Pacific American...
, Winter People at the Boston Court, and Ken Narasaki
Ken Narasaki
Ken Narasaki is a Sansei playwright and actor. He is the former Literary Manager at East West Players theatre company in Los Angeles...
's Innocent When You Dream at the Electric Lodge, which was directed by her husband, Alberto Isaac. She appeared in Narasaki's No-No Boy
No-No Boy (play)
No-No Boy is a play written by Ken Narasaki adapted from the novel of the same title by John Okada, originally produced at the Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa Monica, California, in association with Timescape Arts Group. It is a drama in two acts...
at the Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa Monica CA, also directed by Isaac, alongside her Gilmore Girls daughter, Keiko Agena
Keiko Agena
Christine Keiko Agena is an American actress known professionally as Keiko Agena.-Personal life:Agena, a Japanese-American, was born in Honolulu, and began acting at the age of 10. She attended Mid-Pacific Institute preparatory school on O‘ahu, and Whitman College for one year as a drama major...
. Other theatres include New York's Public Theater
Public Theater
The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as The Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers. It is headquartered at 425 Lafayette Street in the former Astor Library in the East Village...
, La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre-in-residence on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. -Background:...
, Seattle Rep, Singapore Repertory Theatre
Singapore Repertory Theatre
The Singapore Repertory Theatre is the first Singapore-based professional theatre group which was founded in 1993. It is reputed to be the leading English language theatres in whole of Asia...
, Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Berkeley Repertory Theatre is a regional theater company located in Berkeley, California. It was founded in 1968, as the East Bay’s first resident professional theatre. Michael Leibert was the founding artistic director, who was then succeeded by Sharon Ott in 1984. The company runs seven...
, LA Women's Shakespeare Company, Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival, and Lodestone Theatre Ensemble
Lodestone Theatre Ensemble
Lodestone Theatre Ensemble is a non-profit Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1999. It is a membership-driven organization....
.
Kuroda completed seven years as Mrs. Kim in Warner Brothers’ Gilmore Girls and 13 episodes of Under One Roof with Flavor Flav. Recent television credits include "Drop Dead Diva
Drop Dead Diva
Drop Dead Diva is an American legal comedy-drama/fantasy television series that debuted on Lifetime on July 12, 2009. The hour-long series, which was created by Josh Berman, is produced by Sony Pictures Television...
(Margaret Cho's mother)", The Medium, Grey's Anatomy, In Case of Emergency
In Case of Emergency (TV series)
In Case of Emergency was a half-hour comedy television series shown on ABC in the United States. The series follows a group of high school acquaintances whose lives have not turned out as they hoped...
, Six Feet Under, The King of Queens
The King of Queens
The King of Queens is an American sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007.This show was produced by Hanley Productions and CBS Productions , CBS Paramount Television ,and CBS Television Studios in association with Columbia TriStar Television , and Sony Pictures...
, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
, The Practice
The Practice
The Practice is an American legal drama created by David E. Kelley centering on the partners and associates at a Boston law firm. Running for eight seasons from 1997 to 2004, the show won the Emmy in 1998 and 1999 for Best Drama Series, and spawned the successful and lighter spin-off series Boston...
, General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
, Port Charles
Port Charles
Port Charles was a daytime soap opera which aired on ABC from June 2, 1997 to October 3, 2003. It is a spin-off of the serial General Hospital, which has been running since 1963 and takes place in the fictional city of Port Charles, New York...
, L.A. Law
L.A. Law
L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
, ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
, The Bold and the Beautiful
The Bold and the Beautiful
The Bold and the Beautiful is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS Daytime. It premiered on March 23, 1987....
, The Division
The Division
The Division is an American Lifetime Television original series about a team of women police officers in the San Francisco Police Department. The series premiered on January 7, 2001 and ended on June 28, 2004 after 88 episodes.-Synopsis:...
, The Agency, Presidio Med
Presidio Med
Presidio Med is an American Television series which aired 2002–2003, centering around a San Francisco hospital. It was created by John Wells and Lydia Woodward, who also created ER.-Series premise:...
, Arliss
Arliss
-Criticism:This show, which ran for seven seasons, is a prime example of how HBO differs from traditional networks due to its nature as a network its viewers specifically pay to be able to watch. Arliss was cited by so many viewers as the sole reason that they paid for the network that its...
, and the television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
About Love
About Love
About Love is a 2005 film.Three stories are told, respectively set in Tokyo, Taipei, and Shanghai. The first two stories are about a Japanese person and a Taiwanese person. The last one is set in Shanghai with a story about a Japanese man and a Chinese woman. Some of the characters can speak...
(Emmy
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nominated). Feature films include RED, PEEP WORLD, Minority Report
Minority Report (film)
Minority Report is a 2002 American neo-noir science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg and loosely based on the short story "The Minority Report" by Philip K. Dick. It is set primarily in Washington, D.C...
, Stranger Inside
Stranger Inside
Stranger Inside is a television drama film directed by Cheryl Dunye that premiered on cable television in 2001. The story primarily concerns African-American lesbians in prison. Michael Stipe, the lead singer of R.E.M., helped to produce it...
, 2 Days in the Valley
2 Days in the Valley
2 Days in the Valley is a 1996 film, directed by John Herzfeld. The film revolves around the events over 48 hours in the lives of a group of people who are drawn together by a murder. Several parallel storylines overlap one another in the film.-Plot:...
, Dad
Dad (film)
Dad is a 1989 comedy-drama film based on William Wharton's novel of the same name. The film stars Jack Lemmon, Ted Danson, Olympia Dukakis, Kevin Spacey and Ethan Hawke, and was written and directed by Gary David Goldberg. The original music score was composed by James Horner...
, Broken Words, Worth Winning and Shopgirl
Shopgirl
Shopgirl is a 2005 American romantic drama film directed by Anand Tucker. The screenplay by Steve Martin is based on his 2000 novella of the same name.-Plot:...
. She has also appeared in independent
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
Asian American
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
films, including The Sensei
The Sensei
The Sensei is an independent feature film, written, produced and directed by Diana Lee Inosanto .-Synopsis:...
, Yellow
Yellow (1998 film)
Yellow is a 1998 film directed by Chris Chan Lee. The film is about the harrowing graduation night of eight Korean-American high school youths in Los Angeles that culminates in a violent crime that will forever change their lives....
and Stand Up for Justice.
Emily is married to actor/director Alberto Isaac. She has two brothers, Paul Kuroda (an award-winning photographer in Oakland, California) and her younger brother Douglas Kuroda, an electrician in Fresno, California.
Awards
- Drama-Logue AwardDrama-Logue AwardThe Drama-Logue Award was a theater award established in 1977, given by the publishers of Drama-Logue newspaper, a weekly west-coast theater trade publication. Winners were selected by the publication's theater critics, and would receive a certificate at an annual awards ceremony...
s for Ikebana, The Maids, Minimata, The Golden Gate, and Visitors from Nagasaki - City of Los Angeles Commendation for About Love
- Back Stage WestBack StageBack Stage is an entertainment-industry brand aimed at people working in film and the performing arts, with a special focus on casting, job opportunities, and career advice.Back Stage publishes a weekly tabloid-sized trade magazine in the U.S...
Garland AwardBack Stage West Garland AwardsThe Back Stage Garland Awards — also referred to simply as the Garland Awards, and known as the Back Stage West Garland Awards from 1998 to 2008 — are bestowed by the entertainment-industry newspaper Back Stage, honoring excellence in Southern California theatre...
for Outstanding Performance for Straight As a Line. - LA Ovation Award nomination, Best Lead Actress, for Straight As a Line.
- Entertainment Today Best Actress Award for Winter People
- Playwrights' Arena Award for Outstanding Contribution to Los Angeles Theater.
- East West PlayersEast West PlayersEast West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As one of the nation's first Asian American theatre organizations, East West Players today continues to produce works and educational programs that give voice to the Asian Pacific American...
' Rae Creevey Award.