Mari Yaguchi aka Mari biography

Mari Yaguchi (born January 20, 1983 in Yokohama, Japan) is a Japanese singer and former leader of the Hello! Project mothership group, Morning Musume. Yaguchi is famous for her loud, exuberant personality. She often swings between being childlike and sexy - sometimes a combo of both.

Yaguchi left the group in 2005 without a graduation ceremony.

Yaguchi joined Morning Musume in 1998 as part of the second generation, alongside Kei Yasuda and Sayaka Ichii. Though she didn't stand out at first, she shot to notability in 2000, when she unexpectedly dyed her hair blonde and coined the term "sexy beam", which she shouts in Morning Musume's song "Koi no Dance Site."

Yaguchi's first major part as a member of Morning Musume was as a founding member of the subgroup Tanpopo with Kaori Iida and Aya Ishiguro. The lineup was reshuffled after Ishiguro left, and the addition of Rika Ishikawa and Ai Kago made the once-mature group have a very childish feel. Of the two remaining members, Yaguchi was the only one to successfully handle this transformation, using her wacky Minimoni persona to transition from the mature Tanpopo to the childlike one. However, Yaguchi was shuffled out of the group in 2002 to make way for the three incoming members.

Capitalizing on her famously small height (at only 4'8"), Yaguchi formed the group Minimoni in 2000. The group grew to include trouble twins Ai Kago and Nozomi Tsuji, as well as the famously American Mika Todd. The wacky combination of the midget, the troublemakers, and the American rocketed Minimoni to fame. Minimoni would last for four years, though Yaguchi left in 2003 to concentrate on groups like ZYX and ROMANS. (She was replaced by Ai Takahashi.)

Morning Musume was split into two groups in 2003: Otomegumi and Sakuragumi. Yaguchi was part of Sakuragumi, and became the leader of the group after the departure of Natsumi Abe.

Yaguchi became leader of Morning Musume in January 2005, but unexpectedly left the postion and the group in April of 2005 without ceremony. It was revealed that the reason for her departure was that she had a boyfriend (actor Shun Oguri), and dating is taboo for idols. Over the next two years, she would hold the record for shortest time as a leader, until it was broken by Miki Fujimoto in a nearly-identical situation.

After this fall from grace, Yaguchi turned her attention towards television, launching a show called "Yaguchi Hitori" which she co-hosts with Gekidan Hitori. She appeared in many television shows and radio programs for the next year, though she was barred from performing.

At the Hello! Project 2007 Winter concert, Yaguchi returned to the stage to perform with Morning Musume Sakuragumi (of which she had been a part of) for the first time in two years. She also reunited with Tanpopo at the 2007 Summer concert later in the year to perform their signature song, "Tanpopo."