Sayaka Kanda

Japanese actress (1986–2021)

Sayaka Kanda (神田 沙也加) was a Japanese actress and singer. She was the only child of actor Masaki Kanda and pop singer Seiko Matsuda.

Kanda was born at Tokyo Teishin Hospital in Chiyoda, Tokyo. She was the only child of actor Masaki Kanda and Seiko Matsuda, a representative idol singer of the 1980s in Japan. Her paternal grandmother Teruko Asahi (1924–2001) was a former actress.

In 1999, while a student at a Japanese school in Los Angeles, she appeared in Bean Cake, a short film that won the Palme d'Or du court métrage at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. She was quite active as an actress in movies and mostly on stage since her debut. She also wrote some lyrics for her mother Seiko Matsuda's songs. Kanda made her Kōhaku Uta Gassen debut in December 2011 singing "Ue o Muite Arukō" alongside her mother, Seiko Matsuda. In July 2012, Kanda debuted as a voice actress on TV animation Good Luck Girl!, which led her to be cast as Mary in The Muppets and Anna in the Japanese language dub of Disney's animated film Frozen. She won the Best Lead Actress award for the role in the 9th Seiyu Awards. In 2019, she voiced as Anna once again for Kingdom Hearts III. In April 2014, she formed the duo Trustrick with guitarist Billy. They released their debut album, Eternity, on June 25 of the same year. They disbanded on December 17, 2016. Kanda appeared as a special guest in the Alan Symphony Concert from December 20, 2014, alongside Tibetan Chinese diva Alan Dawa Dolma, and together, they sang a music piece originally performed by Alan titled "Letter in the Wind"; 風の手紙; "Kaze no Tegami". Kanda released covers of Vocaloid songs on her YouTube channel.

In May 2017, Kanda married actor Mitsu Murata. Kanda announced their divorce in December 2019. Up until her death, Kanda was in a relationship with actor Takahisa Maeyama after co starring in the stage adaptation of Crest of the Royal Family in August 2021. Kanda and Maeyama had planned to marry.

On December 18, 2021, Kanda was found unconscious in the outer garden on the fourteenth floor of a hotel in Chūō ward, Sapporo. She was later pronounced dead at a hospital. The cause of death was determined to be traumatic shock by the Sapporo Central Police Station, which also said that she had fallen from her room in the upper floors of the hotel. Kanda's remains were cremated and her family kept her ashes at home. A report from Shūkan Bunshun claimed she committed suicide following vocal cord issues as well as issues with her relationship with Maeyama.