Miyoshi Umeki

Miyoshi Umeki (梅木美代志), born May 8, 1929 in Otaru, Japan, and died August 28, 2007 in Missouri, USA, was an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Katsumi, the wife of Joe Kelly (Red Buttons), in the 1957 film Sayonara, as Mei Li in Flower Drum Song (a musical comedy from ... More

Miyoshi Umeki (梅木美代志), born May 8, 1929 in Otaru, Japan, and died August 28, 2007 in Missouri, USA, was an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Katsumi, the wife of Joe Kelly (Red Buttons), in the 1957 film Sayonara, as Mei Li in Flower Drum Song (a musical comedy from 1958 to 1960, then a film in 1961), and in the television series The Courtship of Eddie's Father. She was the first Japanese actress to win an Academy Award.