Agnes Lum

Agnes Nalani Lum (; born May 21, 1956), or Lum-chan, is an American former model, singer, and actress who gained popularity in Japan in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She began modeling while still in high school. She won the Miss Hawaii USA contest in 1974, but was disqualified due to barely missing the age cutoff. After modeling for Shiseido in 1974, she became a very popular model in Japan, appearing in advertisements for Coca-Cola, Lion, Toyota, Asahi Kasei, and Kodak. She was also featured on the covers and in interior photo collections in magazines such as Weekly Playboy, Heibon Punch, Myojo, Goro, and Yomiuri Weekly. The fictional character Lum, from the Urusei Yatsura manga series by Rumiko Takahashi, was modeled after her. During her short singing career, Lum released two singles and two albums from 1977 to 1978. The first single, "Downtown After the Rain" (雨あがりのダウンタウン, Ame-agari no Dauntaun), charted at #79 on the Oricon singles chart. A compilation album was released in 2002. She appeared as herself in a short promotional film released in 1976, as well as taking a supporting role in the 1981 film, The Young General Who Returned (帰ってきた若大将, Kaettekita Wakadaishō). She has made numerous appearances on television variety shows and "what is this celebrity doing now?" shows. Lum married a childhood friend in 1986, and they had twins in 1987.