DECADE-LONG STRUGGLE

Netflix Star Dies at 44 After Cancer Battle

The actress kept her illness private.

Netflix’s Romantics Anonymous star Yuri Nakamura has died after over a decade-long battle with rectal cancer. Nakamura’s agency on Monday confirmed she died on Sept. 1. “We express our heartfelt gratitude once again to all the fans who have warmly supported her, the staff who have helped her, and her fellow performers,” Alpha Agency said. Nakamura played psychologist Irene in the Japanese series based on a French-Belgian film of the same name, about an extremely shy chocolatier who takes a job at a small chocolate store. Nakamura also appeared in another Netflix movie, The 8-Year Engagement (2017), as well as in projects with other companies like Love Letter From Heaven (2007) and Like Father, Like Son (2013). She had to drop her upcoming project, Dangerous, due to her cancer, according to Japan Daily. The actress was first diagnosed in 2013, but kept the illness under wraps. She went into remission after treatment until January 2025, when she was told the cancer had metastasized. By August, doctors told her she had little time left, but representatives said she “remained calm, maintaining a beautiful and gentle smile throughout her final moments.”