Kirin Kiki (樹木 希林, Kiki Kirin; 15 January 1943 - 15 September 2018) was a Japanese actress whose career spanned more than five decades, from stage work in the early 1960s to internationally acclaimed cinema. She built her reputation on eccentric comedic television roles before becoming a fixture of Japanese art-house film, winning two Japan Academy Prize Best Actress awards. Her final screen appearance was in Hirokazu Kore-eda's Shoplifters (2018), which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes.
Kirin Kiki died on September 15, 2018 in Tokyo at the age of 75 after a long battle with cancer, four months after the film Shoplifters won the Palme d'Or at Cannes.
The film Shoplifters directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, in which Kirin Kiki played the role of a grandmother, won the Palme d'Or at the 71st Cannes Film Festival - the first time for a Japanese film in 21 years.
Kirin Kiki publicly announced that her breast cancer, diagnosed in 2004, was incurable and in terminal stage, yet she continued to perform in films.
For her role in the drama Sweet Bean (An) directed by Naomi Kawase, Kirin Kiki received the Asia Pacific Screen Awards for best acting performance.
The Japanese Emperor awarded Kirin Kiki the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette, for her contribution to Japanese culture.
