Kobayashi Yukiko

Born in Tokyo, Kobayashi Yukiko initially rejected numerous offers to join Toho in order to pursue her education. However, after failing her university entrance exams, she relented and auditioned for the studio. She made her screen debut in Honda Ishirô's non-kaiju film Come Marry Me (1966).

Kobayashi is best known to genre fans for her role as Manabe Kyôko in the kaiju classic Destroy All Monsters (1968) and as the title character in the atmospheric horror film The Vampire Doll (1970), the first entry in Toho's "Bloodthirsty Trilogy." She also appeared in Space Amoeba (1970) and played Android Zero One in Ultraseven.

She retired from acting in 1974 due to illness but remained a beloved figure among fans. She made a surprise return to the screen in the 2019 film The Great Buddha Arrival and appeared in the KaijuCast documentary Hail to the King: 60 Years of Destruction (2015).