Rola's modelling career began when she was a high school student after being approached by a scout while walking down the street in
Shibuya, Tokyo.
In modelling After making several appearances in the Japan's
Popteen magazine, Rola began appearing in the fashion magazine
Vivi in 2008. She has since been active in
runway modeling, making numerous appearances in shows such as
Tokyo Girls Collection, Shibuya Girls Collection, and Girls Award. and her first fashion book, "The Rola!!", was published the same month. An additional fashion book, ''Rola's Closet'', was released in June 2014 and contains photographs taken by Rola on the photograph-sharing service
instagram. In August 2014, she began modelling for the fashion brand
Beams, making her first appearance in the brand's 2014 autumn/winter catalogue. Rola has appeared in the following runway shows: Kobe Collection (2008) and Tokyo Girls Collection (2009 Autumn/Winter).
As a TV personality Rola's career as a
tarento (a television personality in Japan) began in June 2010 when she made her first appearance on
Nihon TV's
variety show Shabekuri 007 alongside fellow models
Lena Fujii and Mitsuki Oishi. Rola was named the number four "rising TV-star in 2011", with 200 appearances on Japanese TV shows. She appeared as a weekly regular on
Fuji TV's
Waratte Iitomo! variety show from April 2012 until the program ended in March 2014. Rola's television persona comprises distinctive characteristics, exuding an overall childlike naiveté, innocence, and playfulness. Signature affectations such as puffing her cheeks in embarrassment, holding an "OK" hand gesture over her cheek, and curling her tongue over her upper lip make Rola a common subject for Japanese impersonators, who also mimic her ditzy responses and constant giggles. She falls within the model-idol category of Japanese "talent" (
tarento) as not actually possessing any particular talent, but Rola also presents comic possibilities by her mere presence. In April 2014, Rola acquired her first presenting role on the
Fuji TV quiz show
Danketsu Seyo Quiz 30 in which she presents alongside veteran TV presenter and comedian
Atsushi Tamura. In 2017, there were reports that she may be locked into a ten-year "slave-like" contract with her talent agency.
Music In October 2011, Rola made her musical debut as a featured vocalist on Issa (of
Da Pump) and
SoulJa's song "I hate u". She made her solo debut in July 2012 with the song "Memories", the theme song for the
Pokémon anime film
Kyurem vs. the Sacred Swordsman: Keldeo, in which she also has a cameo voice appearance. It peaked at number 14 on the
Oricon Chart in its first week of release. In September 2012, Rola met with Canadian singer
Carly Rae Jepsen in Tokyo following her own lip-dub version of Jepsen's hit "
Call Me Maybe", and expressed her intention to master English in order to broaden her horizons.
Twitter Rola joined the social media site
Twitter on February 29, 2012. After three days, she gained over 190,000 followers. After two weeks, the number had risen to over 430,000, the largest number amongst Japanese models, followed by
Tsubasa Masuwaka and
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. It reached over 670,000 by April 13, 2012, and 1,000,000 in October 2012. In June 2014, she became the fourth Japanese celebrity to exceed two million followers. , she has the third highest number of followers (over 4.2 million) for a Japanese celebrity, second amongst Japanese female celebrities.
Personal brand In 2013, Rola launched a brand of fragrances called "Vasilisa". She has two perfumes, and five body mists.
Acting Rola played the role of the female soldier Cobalt in the 2016 feature film
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter.
Advertising work In 2009, as an exclusive
Vivi model, she became the model for "Vivifleurs" women's suits following a joint enterprise between
Vivi and
Haruyama Trading Co., Ltd.. In 2011, along with
Mizuki Yamamoto,
Yuri Ebihara,
Jessica Michibata,
Tomomi Itano, Hazuki Tsuchiya and
Taylor Momsen, Rola became a model for the
fashion label Samantha Thavasa, appearing in
television commercials and
catalogues. Modeling for the
cosmetics brand
Brigitte in January 2012, Rola appeared in television commercials, which targets the early-twenties market. That April, Rola also signed a contract with
Fujiya Co., appearing alongside the brand's
mascot "Peko-chan"; a new brand of sweets featuring Rola on the packaging was released by the company in September of that year.
Mail-order retailer for young women's lingerie
Peach John was represented by Rola in May 2012, where she appeared on the front cover of the brand's catalogue. As of August 2014, she continues to represent the brand in television commercials. In August 2012, Rola represented the
takoyaki restaurant
chain HotLand corporation appearing in television commercials and on posters for the company. In 2013, Rola appeared on television commercials for: beauty-products specialists "Tsuyamote Beauty",
foot care brand
Dr. Scholl's,
soft drinks company "Momo no Ten-nensui" and Mitsui Outlet Park. Alongside
Girolamo Panzetta, Rola also appeared in a television commercial for
day spa company TBC. In 2014, she featured in another commercial for TBC and an advertisement for the
mobile news application "Antenna". Rola was announced as the
image character for
Bandai's handheld
digital pet,
Tamagotchi 4U, in July 2014. A limited-edition "pet" based on Rola herself was released in September 2014. In December 2014, it was revealed that Rola had advertising contracts with fifteen companies, more than any other Japanese celebrity in 2014. In 2015, Rola appeared in 11 commercials, all of which were for different companies. She came in third for appearing in the most number of commercials for the year. She regained the top position in 2017, with Rola having commercial contracts with fifteen companies, overtaking actress-model
Suzu Hirose (fourteen contracts).
Publications On August 23, 2012, Rola released her first fashion book, called
The Rola. On June 26, 2014, Rola released her second fashion book, called ''Rola's Closet''. On November 30, 2015, Rola released her first recipe book, called ''Rola's Kitchen''. ==Filmography==