Momona Tamada

Momona Tamada
Born (2006-09-28) September 28, 2006 (age 18)[1]
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Other names百々渚[a]
OccupationActress
Years active2019-present
Notable workAvatar: The Last Airbender
The Baby-Sitters Club
Japanese name
Hiraganaたまだ ももな
Katakanaタマダ モモナ
Transcriptions
RomanizationTamada Momona
Japanese name
Kanji百々渚
Literal meaning[A] hundred beaches
Transcriptions
RomanizationMomo Nagisa

Momona Tamada (百々渚, Momona, born September 28, 2006)[a] is a Canadian actress known for her role as Claudia Kishi in the television adaptation of The Baby-Sitters Club and her role as Ty Lee in the 2024 live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Early life

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Momona Tamada was born on September 28, 2006, to Japanese parents in Vancouver, British Columbia. Tamada also has a younger brother named Hiro.[2] She and her brother are first generation-born Canadian, born to Issei parents. Her name, which means 'hundreds of beaches', was inspired by the beaches of Vancouver.[3]

Career

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On July 26, 2019, Tamada made her debut as the younger version of Kimiko Miyashiro, "The Female", in the series The Boys, in the sixth episode of the first season. Later in 2019, she appeared in an episode of The Terror, as Kazu's great-granddaughter.

In 2020, it was announced that Tamada would be playing the role of Claudia Kishi in the 2020 adaptation of The Baby-Sitters Club.[4]

In September 2022, it was announced that she was cast as Ty Lee in the 2024 adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender.[5] In October 2022, she signed with Echo Lake Entertainment.[6] In November 2022, she joined the cast of The Spiderwick Chronicles as the character Emiko.[7]

Personal life

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Since age 4, Tamada was a competitive dancer.[8] Her fondness for reading in general and The Baby-Sitters Club at an early age prompted her to audition for the role of Claudia Kishi, which she successfully received in the 2020 television adaptation of the same name.[4] Due to her receiving the role, she promptly switched to online school.[9]

Filmography

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Film

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Year(s) Title Role(s) Notes
2020 To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You Young Lara Jean
The Main Event Erica
A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting Babysitter from Japan
2021 To All the Boys: Always and Forever Young Lara Jean
2022 Secret Headquarters Maya Main role

Television

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Year(s) Title Role(s) Notes
2019 The Boys Young Kimiko Miyashiro/"The Female" 1 episode
The Terror Kazu's great-granddaughter 1 episode
2020 Gabby Duran & The Unsittables Dancer 1 episode
2020–2021 The Baby-Sitters Club Claudia Kishi Main role
2022 Super PupZ Emma 10 episodes
Oni: Thunder God's Tale Onari Voice role
2024 Avatar: The Last Airbender Ty Lee 3 episodes
2024–present The Spiderwick Chronicles Emiko 6 episodes
2025 Happy Face Eva Recurring[10]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Tamada's Japanese name is written in her Instagram bio as「百々渚」. The kanji '百' (momo) means '[one] hundred' and '渚' (nagisa) means 'beaches'. In the nanori reading of 百, it is exclusively read as mo, which is reiterated with the usage of the 々 mark.

References

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  1. ^ "17!!". Instagram.com. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  2. ^ Salam, Maya (December 1, 2020). "Momona Tamada's Week: 'Satisfying' Baking Videos and Peace Through Podcasts". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  3. ^ "Momona Tamada - Biography". IMDb.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Asian American girls saw pivotal icon in 'Baby-Sitters Club'". AP News. July 9, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  5. ^ Petski, Denise (September 27, 2022). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender': George Takei, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Arden Cho, Danny Pudi Among 20 Cast In Netflix Series". Deadline. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  6. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (October 9, 2020). "'The Baby-Sitters Club' Breakout Star Momona Tamada Signs With Echo Lake Entertainment". Deadline. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  7. ^ Petski, Denise (November 9, 2022). "'The Spiderwick Chronicles': Momona Tamada & Alyvia Alyn Lind Join Disney+ Series As Recurring". Deadline. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  8. ^ Yap, Audrey Cleo (July 10, 2020). "'The Baby-Sitters Club's' Momona Tamada on Playing Asian American Pop Culture Icon Claudia Kishi". Variety. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  9. ^ Archive, Lauren; Sarner (July 1, 2020). "Meet up and coming 'The Baby-Sitters Club' star Momona Tamada". New York Post. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  10. ^ Petski, Denise (May 9, 2024). "Happy Face Adds Damon Gupton & Momona Tamada As Recurring". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
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