Yumiko Igarashi is a Japanese manga artist born on August 26, 1950, in Asahikawa, Hokkaido. She began her career in 1968 while still a high school student, making her debut with the short story Shiroi Same no iru Shima in a special issue of Shueishas Ribon magazine. Shortly after, she became a regular contributor to Kodanshas Nakayoshi, a monthly manga magazine for young girls.

Igarashi rose to prominence as the illustrator of the seminal shōjo manga series Candy Candy. The series, with a story by writer Kyoko Mizuki, was serialized in Nakayoshi from April 1975 to March 1979 and was collected in nine volumes. Her artwork for Candy Candy earned her the first Kodansha Manga Award in the shōjo category in 1977. The series success led to a television anime adaptation produced by Toei Animation, which aired for 115 episodes from October 1976 to February 1979. Igarashis character designs from the manga served as the foundation for the anime adaptation.

Beyond the television series, Igarashis work on Candy Candy was also the basis for several theatrical anime short films. These include Candy Candy: Haru no Yobigoe (titled The Call of Spring or The May Festival) released in March 1978, Candy Candy: Candy no Natsu Yasumi (Candy Candys Summer Vacation) released in July 1978, and a later film, Candy Candy the Movie, released in April 1992.

Following the success of Candy Candy, Igarashi created original works and continued collaborations. In 1979, she produced Mayme Angel, for which she handled both story and art. Another notable collaboration was Georgie!, a series written by Mann Izawa that ran from 1982 to 1984 and was also adapted into an anime. Her other significant works include Koronde Pokkle, The Sword of Paros with story by Kaoru Kurimoto, and Muka Muka Paradise. In the 1990s, she created manga adaptations of classic literature, including Anne of Green Gables and Heidi.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Igarashi was involved in prominent legal disputes with Kyoko Mizuki over the intellectual property rights to the Candy Candy characters. A Tokyo district court ruled in 2001 that both creators held equal rights, a decision that impacted the franchises licensing and new production for several years.

Igarashi married voice actor Kazuhiko Inoue, with whom she had a son, Keiichi Igarashi (also known as Nanami Igarashi), before their divorce. She is also a resident of Sapporo and a cousin of Satsuki Igarashi, a member of the creative collective CLAMP. Her artistic identity is defined by a signature elegant and delicate linework that became a hallmark of shōjo manga in the 1970s, often depicting expressive characters and emotional narratives. Her work on Candy Candy is widely credited with helping to establish the template for strong, resilient heroines in the genre.