Iijima Naoko hails from Yokohama, Japan's second largest city, where she was born. As a child she would walk along the ocean at Yamashita Park and enjoy the views. She was scouted at her part-time job. She began her career in 1988 on the late-night information program Wide Show 11 Pm (which ceased production in 1990) as an assistant on Nippon TV and Yomiuri TV and quickly completed several straight-to-video films, serials and photo shoots. She became a member of the eight-member pop band Ilex in 1989. She was a race queen for Chic in Japan and did gravure modelling as well. She continued doing corporate advertising for the likes of Kirin beer and Coca Cola coffee. She sold a nude photo book. She was in the band W-Nao in 1992. They mostly covered B-z. They had an original single called Rescue Me in 1995. She had a solo single in 1996. She continued appearing on Japanese television and famously married rock and roll musician Maeda Nobuteru of Tube fame in 1997. This lasted a whole four years. She starred in the play Vision! Yokohama as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of that city's port in 2009. She continued to act for various television stations and married a second time on Christmas day to end 2012. She and her CEO beau had dated for three years. She was ranked fourth on a NTT DoCoMo poll of sexiest woman 2013. Yoko Maki was first. She has a tattoo of a red rose on her left arm. She is a fan of the band Lazy.