M.A.O is the stage name of Ichimichi Mao, a Japanese actress and voice actress born on February 1, 1992, in Osaka Prefecture. Her career in entertainment began in 2006 when she won a grand prize in an audition for the HOP CLUB idol group. She initially pursued acting, and in 2011, she landed a prominent role as Luka Millfy, also known as Gokai Yellow, in the long-running Super Sentai television series Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger.

The experience of voicing over a suited performer in a tokusatsu production sparked her interest in voice acting. In 2012, she formally began her voice acting career under the name M.A.O, with a minor role in the anime Cooking Idol Ai! Mai! Main!. Her early years as a voice actress saw her take on a wide array of supporting roles, quickly building a diverse portfolio. She gained early recognition for characters such as Kazumi Schlierenzauer in Brynhildr in the Darkness and Renge Komadori in World Conquest Zvezda Plot in 2014.

Throughout her career, M.A.O has become known for her versatile vocal range, capable of portraying characters of various ages and personalities, from young girls to mature women. This adaptability has led to an extensive and varied filmography. She has taken on leading and key supporting roles in numerous popular series, demonstrating her broad appeal and skill. Some of her most well-regarded performances include Shion in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Fumika Sagisawa in The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls, Aoko Nakamori in Magic Kaito 1412, Papika in Flip Flappers, and the female protagonist in the fantasy comedy Fantasy Bishōjo Juniku Ojisan to. Her role in the latter marked a significant point in her career as her first time playing a lead heroine. She is also recognized for her performances as Luluco in Space Patrol Luluco, Sakura Aoyama in Are You Lost?, and multiple characters across the Digimon franchise, including Hikari Yagami.

M.A.O maintains a strong and unique connection to live-action tokusatsu productions, often bridging her two careers. In 2017, she achieved the rare feat of returning to the Super Sentai series as a voice actor, providing the voice for Raptor 283 in Uchu Sentai Kyuranger, this time credited under her voice acting stage name, M.A.O. This made her one of the few performers to play different main roles in the Super Sentai series as both a live-action actress and a voice actress. She has since completed the "tokusatsu Gosanke" (Big Three Tokusatsu) by appearing in the Kamen Rider series as Ai-chan in Kamen Rider Zero-One and the Ultraman series as Marluru in Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Tiga.

In a career-defining achievement, M.A.O won the Best Lead Actress Award at the 18th Seiyu Awards in 2024, cementing her status as a leading figure in the voice acting industry. Her body of work continues to grow, with a constant stream of roles in new anime series, demonstrating her ongoing relevance and high demand in the field.