Machiko was born in Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan, on March 18, 1938. Her upbringing was humble, and she was raised to be a singer, though her talents were in acting. Her mother died when she was a child, leaving her father to raise her. She was the youngest of three siblings. One of her brothers died during WWII, while the other is still alive. Her father passed away from cancer in 1991.
Machiko Soga siblings: Who are Machiko Sogaare siblings?
She had two brothers and a sister. One of her brothers died during WWII, but the other is still alive.
She was “discovered” while performing in a play at Tokyo Center. Her life would be forever changed after meeting many important figures in the world of Japanese television that night. In 1956, she made her debut on NHK’s children’s show Minna issho. Her first roles were mostly radio and voice character roles after years of taking jazz dance lessons. She rose to prominence after appearing in NHK’s radio drama Chorinmura to Kurumi no Ki (1961), as the first voice actress to portray the lovable ghost Q-taro in Obake no Q-tar (TBS, 1965–1968).
She appeared in a number of tokusatsu films and series, and she played a number of villainous roles in the Super Sentai franchise, including Queen Hedrian in Denziman and Sun Vulcan. She also appeared in Maskman for one episode as Tube Empire’s field commander, Baraba’s mother, and as the evil sorceress Bandora in Zyuranger, better known to English-speaking audiences as Rita Repulsa in the American adaptation of Zyuranger, Power Rangers. After Power Rangers became a surprise hit in America, she soon found herself re-dubbing her own lines as Rita when the show was broadcast in Japan.
Her final tokusatsu role was Magiel, Queen of the Sky Saints in Magiranger, which was one of her few non-villainous roles. In her honor, the producers of Power Rangers: Mystic Force used footage of Soga as Magiel to depict a reformed Rita Repulsa in the two-part final episode of Mystic Force, “Mystic Fate.”
