Keiko Agena Biography

Christine Keiko Agena (born October 3, 1973) is an American actress known professionally as Keiko Agena.

Personal life

Keiko Agena, a Japanese-American, was born in Honolulu, and began acting at the age of 10. She attended Mid-Pacific Institute preparatory school on O"?ahu, and Whitman College for one year as a drama major.

Agena married Shin Kawasaki in a helicopter over Las Vegas, Nevada on December 19, 2005.

Career

Agena is probably best known for her role in Gilmore Girls, where she played Lane Kim, a Korean-American teenager who is the best friend of Rory Gilmore, one of the lead characters. Agena played this role despite being significantly older than her character, who was 16 at the start of the series when Agena was 27. Agena has also played the role of Mearing's Aide, Mearing being played by Frances McDormand, in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Agena also appeared in three episodes of Felicity as Leila Foster, a girl who comes to the lead character for assistance in acquiring the morning-after pill and participates in a protest when denied said medication. She was a recipient of the Best Female Actor award in the Ammy Awards, which honor Asian and Asian-American achievement in film or television. She also provided the voice of Yori in the Disney cartoon series Kim Possible in seasons 2, 3, and 4 of the show. Also, Agena played Jun Ni in the movie Hair Show starring Mo'Nique. She guest-starred on Private Practice, Castle, and episode 12 of the final season of ER. She also appeared in Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous alongside Jessica Simpson as an army private. In 2010 she appeared onstage in No-No Boy in Santa Monica, California. She later appeared in an episode of House as Dr. Cheng.

While in Austin, Texas for the Gilmore Girls reunion panel at the 2015 ATX Festival, she also participated in two live tapings of the podcast Gilmore Guys, as well as a live performance by Lane Kim's band Hep Alien.

In September 2015, Agena launched Drunk Monk Podcast with fellow improv comedian Will S. Choi, wherein they watch every episode of the television series, Monk while consuming alcohol.

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Renegade	Mitsuko	"Samurai"
1995	Sister, Sister	Student Interviewer	"Kid in Play"
1998, 2009	ER	Mrs. Shimahara Mrs. Vasquez	"Good Luck, Ruth Johnson" "Dream Runner"
1999	Beverly Hills, 90210	The Competitor	"Agony"
2000	Felicity	Leila Foster	"Revolutions" "Party Lines" "Running Mates"
2000-2007	Gilmore Girls	Lane Kim	Main Cast
2001	The Nightmare Room	Janet Bingham	"School Spirit" "Full Moon Halloween"
2001	Strong Medicine	An-Soo "Alison" Kim	"Control Group"
2003-2007	Kim Possible	Yori	4 episodes
2006	Without a Trace	Kimiko	"Odds or Evens"
2007	Private Practice	Sister Amy	"In Which Cooper Finds a Port in His Storm"
2009	Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous	Private Hailey Hamamori	Main role
2010	Castle	Kelly	"The Mistress Always Spanks Twice"
2010	House	Dr. Cheng	"Unplanned Parenthood"
2011	The Homes	Nami	Unknown role
2011	Transformers: Dark of the Moon	Assistant of Charlotte Mearing	Main role
2012	Scandal	White House Press Secretary Britta Kagan	"Happy Birthday, Mr President"
2013-2014	Twisted	April Tanaka	Minor Role
2013	Shameless (US)	Brittany Sturgess	3 episodes
2016	Gilmore Girls: Seasons	Lane Kim	Main role (Limited series)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Work
2001	Teen Choice Award		TV Choice Sidekick	Gilmore Girls
2002	Young Artist Award		Best Performance in a TV Drama Series - Supporting Young Actress	Gilmore Girls
2002	Teen Choice Award		TV Choice Sidekick	Gilmore Girls
2003	Teen Choice Award		TV Choice Sidekick	Gilmore Girls
2013	Asians on Film Festival		Winter Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Short	Lil Tokyo Reporter
2014	Asians on Film Festival		Short Film	Lil Tokyo Reporter