is a Japanese actress and singer. She was a fifth-generation member of the Japanese pop group Morning Musume. She joined Morning Musume in 2001 along with 3 others- Ai Takahashi, Asami Konno and Makoto Ogawa. She grew up in Yokohama after moving there at the age of six. She was one of the longest serving members of Morning Musume, and was the leader of the group from October 2011 to her graduation on May 18, 2012. Biography History Niigaki was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa. She was the runner-up for the 'Kiss Girl Audition' in becoming the Tomy image girl before joining Morning Musume. She appeared with the winner Ai Hasegawa in a Tomy Karaoke Machine commercial. In 2001, Niigaki joined Morning Musume as the fifth generation along with Ai Takahashi, Asami Konno, and Makoto Ogawa. Morning Musume producer Tsunku said he chose Niigaki because she "shined during the final studio recording" for the audition song that all the finalists had to sing. She debuted and lead on the group's 13th single, "Mr. Moonlight (Ai no Big Band)" making her one of the few members of Morning Musume who was able to lead on her debut single. She first appeared in their 4th album, 4th Ikimasshoi!. In the summer of that year, she also debuted in a shuffle unit as part of Happy 7, with two other members of her generation (Ai Takahashi and Makoto Ogawa). Later in September, all fifth-generation members were placed into subgroups. Niigaki was placed into Tanpopo as a member of the third generation, along with Asami Konno. The new line-up only released one single before becoming inactive. Niigaki, along with many other members of Morning Musume at that time, starred in a drama entitled Angel Hearts which was released in 2002. In 2003, she was placed into Sakuragumi, which released two singles before also becoming inactive. In early 2007, Niigaki was chosen to be a member of the along with Kaori Iida, Natsumi Abe, Maki Goto and Koharu Kusumi - a unit created to celebrate Morning Musume's 10th anniversary. Their first single, , was released on January 24, 2007. On June 1, 2007, Miki Fujimoto's resigned from Morning Musume, Ai Takahashi replaced Fujimoto as leader, while Risa Niigaki took Takahashi's place as sub-leader. Following the announcement of Nozomi Tsuji's pregnancy, Niigaki took over Tsuji's role as Athena in the animation series Robby & Kerobby. In October