Yamamoto was born on 11 December 1931 in
Nishi ward,
Osaka, and graduated from Kyoto Prefectural First High School for Girls (now Kyoto Prefectural Ohki High School). She won the first Miss Nippon beauty contest in 1950. In 1953, she made her film debut at
Daiei Film, Yamamoto was considered one of Japan's most beautiful women, with, in the words of film historian Catherine Russell, "noble" features that represented the classic ideal of Japanese beauty. As such, she was well-suited for costumed parts in the era's popular
period dramas, with her less-frequent modern roles (in films like Ozu's
Equinox Flower and Ichikawa's ''
Being Two Isn't Easy'') often shot in "movie star"
closeups that placed her apart from the films' contemporary storytelling. After the Daiei dismissal, Yamamoto acted in the TV series
Toshiba Sunday Theatre and on
Fuji TV, and appeared on stage alongside
Matsumoto Kōshirō in 1964. Even though she has appeared frequently on stage and on television, she has not appeared in a film since then. ==Selected filmography==