Starting as a model in Naha, Okinawa, Fumi Nikaido made her film debut in 2009 in Toad's Oil, directed by Koji Yakusho. She received the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actress Award for her work in Shion Sono's Himizu at the 68th Venice International Film Festival in 2011. In 2014, The New York Asian Film Festival awarded her as an "International Rising Star".
