I might have watched my fair share of American classic films to know the difference between my Cary Grant and my Humphrey Bogart, but I am not a connoisseur of Asian cinema, so I have little to start on with Rinko Kikuchi. The 32-year old actress started on the television show "Churasan," which she starred in for an impressive 156 episodes. But I didn't see any of them, so I'm not counting that.
The 2006 came along and I wept as I watched Kikuchi in BABEL, a movie that I otherwise found overwrought and frantically dramatized (or perhaps it's just because I've started a love-hate relationship with Brad Pitt over the last 10 years where I either love or hate him in whatever he does). It was one of the few record times that an Asian actor received an Academy Award Nomination, this time for Rinko's Best Supporting Actress turn as the troubled Chieko Wataya
I am an absolutely HORRIBLE judge of what is attractive, hot, s**y or beautiful in Asian women. I wish I could tell you that I have a straight-up opinion about Rinko Kikuchi, but I don't know how I feel about her as a hottie. I think she's a tremendous actress and I can pick her out of crowd (har har) but my yellow fever tends to run on my heteros**ual side where I KNOW for certain what I like about Asian men. I'm leaving my answer here purposefully open.