Aya Hirano

Aya Hirano (平野 綾, Hirano Aya, born October 8, 1987) is a Japanese actress, voice actress, and singer. Beginning in the entertainment industry as a child actor performing in television commercials, she played her first voice acting role in 2001 in the anime television series Angel Tales. She released her first single "Breakthrough" in 2006, and she released her first album Riot Girl in 2008. She was formerly contracted to Space Craft Produce, a branch of the Space Craft Group, before moving to the talent agency Grick in August 2011. Her label was Lantis until 2011, when she moved to Universal Sigma.

Hirano is known for her roles as Haruhi Suzumiya in the Haruhi Suzumiya franchise, Misa Amane in Death Note, Konata Izumi in Lucky Star, and Lucy Heartfilia in Fairy Tail. She won the Voice Acting Award at the 2007 Tokyo Anime Awards for her breakthrough role as Haruhi Suzumiya, the Best Newcomer Award at the 1st Seiyu Awards in 2007, and won the Best Lead Actress award at the 2nd Seiyu Awards in 2008. Hirano also pioneered the "idol voice actor" crossover that became popular beginning in the late 2000s.

In 2011, she temporarily ceased accepting new roles to recover from a pituitary gland tumor that had been affecting her health. She resumed voice acting activities later that year. In 2016, after appearing at a stage play in Tokyo, she went to New York to study abroad for four months.