Mia is an actor, poet, and songwriter. Born and raised in Japan, Mia came to Los Angeles to pursue her career in acting and art. She studied with Broadway and film director Robert Alan Ackerman ("Life with Judy Garland," "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone," "Ramen Girl”, the Golden Globe & Emmy Award nominee).
The theater company "The Garage”, which she is one of the founding members, produced the stage play "BLOOD" with Mr. Ackerman as director and playwright. Mia played Koyo, a boy with HIV in the midst of the AIDS crisis, which she was nominated for a Los Angeles Stage Raw Awards for Best Female Supporting Performer.
The film "The Wind Phone," in which Mia plays Suzuki, a bereaved wife who lost her husband in the Great Tohoku Earthquake, has been screened at over 75 film festivals worldwide since its premiere in March 2019 and has garnered over 30 awards including Best Short Film, Outstanding Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Ensemble Cast, Most Original Concept, Best Cinematography, Best Use of Sound, and Special Jury Prize. The film also qualified for the 2019 Academy Awards for Best Live-Action Short.
She recently finished filming "The Unreachable Star," a film about Japanese American history set in the Manzanar internment camp with Tamlyn Tomita (Star Trek: Picard, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Day After Tomorrow).
As a lyricist, Mia has written lyrics to more than 250 songs for various artists including, “Adabana -Sora ni Mau-"( Rekochoku MV Daily Rankings No. 1 ), "Tsumugi Bito" (No. 5 in the iTunes Store • J-Pop MV • Japan Division), and "We'll Find a Dawn", the opening theme for TV anime “Ame no Yamanai Mura (Village Where the Rain Never Stops)".
Mia is beyond thrilled taking this journey as Chase and is so grateful for this opportunity to grow together with the amazing Submittan family.
Mia Ando Website: miaando.com