| Nichole Sakura | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | University of Southern California (BFA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2010–present |
Nichole Sakura (formerly credited as Nichole Bloom) is a Japanese-American actress best known for her role as Cheyenne Thompson in the NBC sitcom Superstore (2015–2021).
Early life
Sakura was born to a Japanese mother and an American father. She has Irish ancestry from the paternal side of her family. She was raised in San Francisco and usually spent her summers as a child visiting relatives in Japan. She went to Santa Susana High School in Simi Valley and later attended the University of Southern California, from which she graduated after three years as a Theater major. After college Sakura briefly attended classes at The Groundlings Theatre but was cut from the program, which she considers to have been "devastating."
Career
She had the recurring role of Amanda on Shameless from 2014 to 2016.
In 2015, Sakura starred in the music video for one of Phantoms’ two singles, “Broken Halo,” from their EP of the same name. Later that year, she was added to the main cast of the NBC sitcom Superstore as Cheyenne, a 17-year-old store employee who is pregnant at the start of the series. The series followed a group of employees working at Cloud 9, a fictional big-box chain store in St. Louis, Missouri.
She had voice roles in numerous animated film and television series, including Suzume, OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, Kiff, and Central Park. In 2023, she had a recurring role as a ghost named Jessica on CBS' sitcom Ghosts. In November that year, Sakura starred alongside troupe Please Don’t Destroy in the comedy film Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain, directed by Paul Briganti and written by the former.
Personal life
Her stage name was originally Nichole Bloom (the last name derived from her Japanese name Sakura, for cherry blossom); she changed it to Nichole Sakura in August 2020, announcing through Instagram that she had changed her name for her acting credits to honor her mother and her Japanese heritage. She stated that she had taken her original stage name out of fear in being typecast into stereotypical Asian roles.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Everyday | Nichole O'Connor | Short film |
| 2011 | Carpool | Rachel | Short film |
| 2012 | Project X | JB's Girlfriend | |
| Model Minority | Kayla Tanaka | ||
| 2013 | Full Circle by Justin Chon | Nichole | Short film |
| 2015 | Man Up | Kayla | |
| 2016 | Teenage Cocktail | Annie Fenton | Main role |
| 2017 | Lazer Team 2 | Maggie Wittington | |
| 2023 | Suzume | Suzume Iwato | Voice; Main role, English dub |
| Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain | Amy | ||
| 2024 | The Finnish Line | Elyse |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Teen Wolf | Rinko | 2 episodes |
| Grey's Anatomy | Leanne | 1 episode | |
| 2014–2016 | Shameless | Amanda | Recurring role; 17 episodes |
| 2015–2021 | Superstore | Cheyenne Thompson | Main cast; 106 episodes |
| 2017–2019 | OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes | Carla, Pepelina, Nanini, Gecky, Bobo | Voice; 6 episodes |
| 2018–2020 | Robot Chicken | Various Characters | Voice; 2 episodes |
| 2020 | Big Hero 6: The Series | Olivia Mole | Voice; 1 episode |
| 2021–2022 | Maggie | Louise | Main cast; 13 episodes |
| 2021 | Star Wars: Visions | Haru | Voice; Short film: The Village Bride: English language dub |
| 2022 | Beavis and Butt-Head | Girl | Voice; 1 episode |
| 2023 | Central Park | (voice) | 2 episodes |
| Ghosts | Jessica | 3 episodes | |
| 2023–present | Kiff | Terri Buns and Various roles | Voice; 25 episodes |
| 2024 | The Finnish Line | Elyse | Television film |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Until Dawn | Emily "Em" Davis | Also performed motion-capture |
Music videos
| Year | Song | Artist | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | "Broken Halo" | Phantoms |
References
- "Being "Shameless" with Nichole Bloom". The Dodgy. April 6, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
- "IR Interview: Nichole Sakura For "Suzume" [Crunchyroll]". SirkTV. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
- "All Truth About Nichole Sakura – formerly Nichole Bloom". Retrieved August 8, 2023.
- "Nichole Sakura - Sense of Freedom (Full video)". YouTube. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
- "Phantoms Broken Halo ft. Nicholas Braun". YouTube. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
- Lee, Ben (March 13, 2015). "Shameless actress Nichole Bloom joins NBC's Superstore". Digital Spy. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
- "Superstore - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
- "Nanini". Retrieved August 8, 2023.
- Rowan, Iona (March 24, 2023). "Superstore's Nichole Sakura lands next lead movie role". Digital Spy. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
- Gelman, Vlada (December 1, 2022). "Ghosts Welcomes Superstore Vet Nichole Sakura as Spirit Who Catches [Spoiler]'s Eye — 2023 FIRST LOOK". Yahoo News. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
- "Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
- Sakura, Nichole (August 14, 2020). "Nichole Sakura Instagram post". Nichole Sakura. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
- Mateo, Alex (March 21, 2023). "Makoto Shinkai's Suzume Film Reveals English Dub Cast with Lead Nichole Sakura". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- Petski, Denise (April 6, 2021). "Nichole Sakura, Angelique Cabral, Chloe Bridges & Kerri Kenney Join ABC Comedy Pilot 'Maggie'; Natalia Anderson To Direct". Deadline. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
- "Stunning New Star Wars: Visions Trailer Debuts". StarWars.com. August 17, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.