本名佐藤美和， 出生於1968年1月13日的琦玉县川口市，丈
夫是浅野忠信（已离婚），他们的女儿叫浅野堇。
当Chara才两岁还在学说话时，已经是位对音乐十分敏感的女孩。 於是她的父母
买了一个玩具钢琴给她。四岁时她就开始学真正的钢琴。 小学一年级时，她发表
了第一首创作的歌曲「SAYONARA」。
16岁时，Chara开始参与乐团活动并担任的Keyboard手; 20岁时，她决意要自己演
唱自己写的歌词，进而转担任主唱。 两年后，Chara被唱片公司发掘，成为日本
Sony旗下的艺人， 并在1991年以一首单曲「Heaven」正式冲入乐坛，同年11月推
出首张专辑「SWEET」。
1992年Chara的第2张专辑「Soul Kiss」推出便打入Oricon榜第14位， 并勇夺该
年日本唱片大赏的专辑新人赏!之后受邀参加多方广告的演出，并主唱其广告曲。
在实力被肯定的情况下，1993年她的第3张专辑 「Violet Blue」 与1994年的第
4张专辑「Happy Toy」，都分别荣登Oricon榜第4位。 证明了Chara的歌曲有她独
特的个人魅力。
1995年3月Chara突然与浅野忠信闪电结婚，就在结婚当天， 俩人手牵手在东京涉
谷街上，一边交换戒指、一边哼起了结婚进行曲。浪漫地完成她的终生大事。
1996年Chara凭电影「燕尾蝶」夺得日本电影大赏的最佳女主角奖。 而该剧主题
曲「爱之歌」，更创下了百万销售佳绩，为Chara开启了另一个新时代。 该影片
导演岩井俊二曾在公开场合中表示他最欣赏的女歌手是Chara， 更表示他是Char
a忠实歌迷，拥有她所有的专辑。
1997年4月推出single「温柔的心情」，便打入Oricon榜第7位， 此单曲更荣获M
TV JAPAN 观众投选最佳音乐录影带奖。接下来的 「Time Machine」，也在日本
销售极佳。 同年的第5张专辑「Junior Sweet」终於推出，便打入Oricon榜冠军
，销售更突破一百万张! 1998年分别推出了「DUCA」和「光与我」single; 事隔
1年6个月，1999年Chara终於推出「Strange Fruits奇异果」专辑。
2000年，Chara在乐迷期盼之下，推出了双CD「Chara Live 97-99 Mood」， 一共
收录了97年「JUNIOR SWEET TOUR」，98年「”DUCA” & THE AURORA BAND」， 99
年「STRANGE FRUITS THE LIVE」，以及99年10月27日在NHK HALL举办的「STRAN
GE FRUITS THE CONCERT」 长达三年的四次巡回、共61场次的所有演唱过的曲目
中，由Chara亲自挑选的19首最精彩的现场演唱曲。
2000年8月23日，Chara将会推出新single「月 甘 泪」。
With her crazy shock of hair, baby doll pout, mature lyrics, and distinctive voice — somewhere between a lispy squeak and a husky groan — Chara is one of the most interesting female vocalists working in Japan, whose music has stood outside the two main trends of her country's music scene. Neither Jpop nor club pop or Jindies rock, Chara's style remains her own.
Born in Kawaguchi-shi, Saitama county on January 13, 1968, Chara gained her nickname from an elementary school teacher when she was eight. Since then, she has been identified so closely as Chara that friends don't even know her real name. Before she could even talk, Chara was playing around on a toy piano, a habit that finally prompted her parents to buy her piano lessons when she was four. In junior high school, she became obsessed with the movie American Graffiti and borrowed her style from the retro-1950s chic of the film, going so far as to form an American-style cheerleading squad in a country not known for such things. In the meantime, she was growing up a child of '80s music, mostly the New Romantic scene, playing keyboards in the school band, and working on her vocals.
In 1990, at age 22, she sent off a demo tape to CBS/Sony and got a contract with Epic records. After recording for a year, she debuted in a live appearance at the famous Tokyo club Quattro in September, 1991, followed by a single "Heaven" and an album, Sweet, in November. A cult following soon led to a standing room only return to club Quattro at the end of the year. Chara's popularity and media profile spread, earning her spots for her song and appearance in commercials for Suntory, Shiseido, Marui, and others. Her second album, Soul Kiss, appeared in 1992, her third, Violet Blue, in 1993, and her fourth, Happy Toy, in 1994. All were supported by successful tours.
In 1995, she gave birth to her first child, a baby girl she named Sumire. In the time off, Sony/Epic released a best-of compilation with accompanying remix CD. Chara then took some time off in 1996 to film Swallowtail Butterfly, directed by Shunji Iwai. She starred alongside actor Tadanobu Asano, who she married later that year. The film went on to win her a Best Actress award at the Japanese Academy awards and spin off a soundtrack album by the film's imaginary group The 99 1/2, with Chara on vocals. Chara followed up on this with a wildly popular album, Junior Sweet. With production from Towa Tei and Ashley Ingram, the album went on to be a million seller, one of the best-sellers of 1997. In 1999, she released her follow-up, Strange Fruits, and gave birth to her second child, a boy she named Himi. She is still producing albums and touring, though no movie plans are in the works.