Ikuta was born on January 22, 1997, in
Düsseldorf,
Germany. She began taking piano lessons at the age of four under the influence of her older sister, who had taken them before her. Her family moved to
Tokyo when she was five. She made her entertainment debut as a child actress in 2007, starring in the musical ''Coco Smile: Asu e no Rock 'n' Roll.'' She was chosen as one of the members performing on the group's debut single "
Guruguru Curtain", released on February 22, 2012. In September 2012, she was selected for the leading role of Alice in Nogizaka46's stage musical
Sixteen Principal. On April 20, 2014, she announced that she would take a break from Nogizaka46 to prepare for further schooling. She resumed her activities in August as the choreographic center for Nogizaka46's tenth single "
Nandome no Aozora ka?". In 2015, Ikuta appeared in the
Fuji TV drama
Zannen na Otto as a high school girl who dreams of becoming a pianist. She published her first solo photobook,
Tenchō, on January 21, 2016. It sold 38,355 copies in its first week, and ranked first on the Oricon weekly photobook sales chart. It also ranked first on the Oricon book ranking photobook category in the first half of the year 2016. In July 2016, it was announced that Ikuta had been chosen for the role of
Cosette in a 30th anniversary production of
Les Miserables in Japan in 2017, a role she reprised in 2019. In early 2021, It was announced that Ikuta would play
Éponine in
Les Miserables in spring till autumn 2021. In 2024, it was announced that Ikuta would play
Fantine in
Les Miserables from late December 2024 till mid June 2025. She is also the second actress in Japan to play both Cosette, Éponine and Fantine in
Les Miserables,
Rina Chinen was the first actress to do so. In January 2021, she and fellow Nogizaka46 member
Sayuri Matsumura performed a cover of the song "1・2・3" by
Mafumafu and
Soraru; the song was used as an opening theme to the anime series
Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series. On October 25, Ikuta announced she will graduate from Nogizaka46 on December 31, 2021 on her official blog. Her graduation concert took place at the
Yokohama Arena on December 14 and 15. She sang and performed on the stage of the
72nd NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen on December 31, and it was her last activity as a member of Nogizaka46. On January 5, 2022, five days after her graduation from Nogizaka46, Ikuta announced her return to her talent agency during her days as a child actress, Ohta Production. On January 8, her official Twitter account was opened. On February 1, her official website was opened (with a fan event on 19 to commemorate the occasion), while her Nogizaka46 blog posts were deleted. Ikuta's first post-Nogizaka46 acting role was as Mio Mukai in the
Fuji TV series
Gossip: #Kanojo ga Shiritai Honto no 〇〇. On November 1, 2022, her first calendar was released. It was available to the members of her official website until December 31. Her third fan event, "Erika Ikuta 2022 winter fun", was held on December 3, 2022 at
Zepp Osaka Bayside and on December 11 at
KT Zepp Yokohama. Her first solo tour, "Erika Ikuta Autumn Live Tour 2023", ran from September 10 to 17, 2023, spanning Tokyo, Fukuoka, Osaka and Aichi. A final leg of the tour was held on October 5 at the
Tokyo International Forum. On October 13, it was announced that Ikuta will be the Japanese voice of
Asha in the Japanese dubbing of the Disney film
Wish. On January 22, 2024, the day of her 27th birthday, Ikuta announced that she will be making her solo singer debut under
Gr8! Records with the release of her first
extended play, "capriccioso", on April 10. She also opened her official
YouTube channel that day. On May 15, 2024, it was announced that Ikuta will star in her first lead role in a
public TV drama,
Subarashiki Kana, Sensei!. == Discography ==