Tomoko Watanabe was a Japanese actress and voice actor active from the 1950s through the 1980s. Born in Tokyo on November 3, 1934, she was a graduate of Kyoritsu Women's Junior College. Watanabe began her career in the entertainment industry by joining the radio broadcasting troupe of Radio Tokyo Television (now TBS) as a fourth-term trainee, having been selected from thousands of applicants. She was affiliated with the theater groups Tsuchi no Kai and later Kawa no Kai early in her career.

Watanabe's voice acting work was primarily in anime during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1964, she provided the voice for the character Akira Asumo's Mother in the series Big X. She later played the role of Youko Mizue in the 1968 series Yuyake Banchō. Her other notable anime credits from this period include roles in productions such as Mahoutsukai Sally, Himitsu no Akko-chan, and Dokonjou Gaeru. In 1976, she voiced Urara's mother in Robokko Beeton, and later appeared in an episode of Galaxy Express 999 in 1979.

Beyond anime, Watanabe had an extensive career as a dramatic actress in live-action television dramas. She made numerous guest appearances on the long-running police procedural series Taiyō ni Hoero! throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. She also contributed her voice as a narrator for the 1982 television drama Fūfu.

In addition to her on-screen and narration work, Watanabe was active in dubbing foreign films and television series for Japanese audiences. Her dubbing credits include providing voices for the television series The Invaders and Kojak, as well as for films such as The Sound of Music and the Italian western Return of Ringo, among others. She also performed in radio dramas, with one of her earliest roles being a narrator for the 1958-1959 series Pesu yo O wo Fure.