Youko Honna is a Japanese actress, voice actress, and singer born on January 7, 1979, in Soka, Saitama Prefecture. Her career in entertainment began at the age of four when her parents enrolled her in a children's theater group, Gekidan Nihon Jidou, to help with her shyness. By the time she finished junior high school, she had appeared in approximately 180 television dramas, films, and stage productions, including a role as young Cosette in the musical Les Misérables.

Honna made her voice acting debut in 1991 at the age of twelve, providing the voice for the young Taeko Okajima in the Studio Ghibli film Only Yesterday. Her breakthrough role came in 1995 when she starred as Shizuku Tsukishima in another Ghibli film, Whisper of the Heart. For this role, she also performed the film's main theme song, "Country Road," which became a commercial success, selling nearly 200,000 copies and ranking her among the top new artists of the year in Japan. After a pause to focus on her university studies, where she majored in Russian at Soka University, she returned to voice acting and began working extensively on dubbing foreign films.

In 2004, Honna began her most defining and long-running role as Nagisa Misumi, also known as Cure Black, the lead character in the Futari wa Pretty Cure anime series. She has continued to reprise this role for over two decades in numerous sequels, crossover films, and specials, including Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart, the Pretty Cure All Stars film series, and Hugtto! Precure Futari wa Precure All Stars Memories. This role established her as a foundational figure in the long-running and popular magical girl franchise.

Beyond Pretty Cure, Honna has built a diverse career with many other significant anime roles. She is well known as the voice of Sumeragi Lee Noriega in the Mobile Suit Gundam 00 series and its film adaptation. Her filmography includes the role of Ange in the Koi Suru Tenshi Angelique series, Sakura in Hanamaru Kindergarten, and Vasilisa in A Certain Magical Index II. In more recent years, she has voiced Wendy in Listeners, Brandy in The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace, and Claire Voyance in My Hero Academia The Movie: World Heroes' Mission. She also played Lalaco Godspeed in Space Patrol Luluco and has been involved in the.hack franchise as Asta.

Honna is also highly active in dubbing foreign live-action films and television series for the Japanese market. She is the regular Japanese voice for actresses such as Elisabeth Moss, Emma Stone, and Amanda Seyfried. Her dubbing credits include Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man films, June Osborne in The Handmaid's Tale, and roles in Battleship, Dark Shadows, and Pitch Perfect.

In addition to her acting work, Honna has pursued a music career, releasing several singles and albums. She formed a music unit called Uchu Dokei (Space Clock) with a pianist and percussionist, for which she also wrote songs and designed jewelry. Her multilingual abilities include proficiency in Italian and Russian, and she has served as a language supervisor for the Italian dialogue in anime such as A Certain Magical Index II. She also holds a 6th dan in calligraphy. Honna is affiliated with the talent agency Re-Max, having previously been associated with 81 Produce.