Akari Higuchi is a Japanese voice actor born on May 8, 1976, in Mie Prefecture, Japan. She began her path to becoming a voice actor in 1999 when she enrolled in the Katsuta Voice Actor Academy. Her time there was brief, as she chose to leave the academy in 2000 due to a philosophical disagreement with the "moe"-style acting education that was gaining popularity. Despite her departure, the academy's principal recognized her talent and attempted to persuade her to stay. She continued her training at the Haikyo Voice Actors Studio, a decision she made after finding its educational approach to be a better fit. She graduated from this studio in 2003 and immediately joined the Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society, marking the start of her professional career.

Her career has been marked by a few key transitions. In 2008, she moved to the agency Across Entertainment, and then in 2011, she made the decision to leave the agency and retire from voice acting altogether. However, this retirement was short-lived; she was almost immediately offered the lead role in the Japanese dub of the television series Covert Affairs, which prompted her to continue her career as a freelance voice actor. Since March 2011, she has been active as a freelancer.

Higuchi is highly regarded for her versatility and range as a performer. She is known for her ability to voice a wide spectrum of characters, from young children to the elderly, and across both genders, a skill sometimes referred to as her "vocal seven transformations". Her work spans animation, video games, and a significant amount of narration work, including for documentaries.

Her notable roles in anime are extensive and varied. In the anime series The Familiar of Zero, she voiced the character Jessica. She is also known for her role as the Uriage Princess (or Urihime) in the long-running series Natsume's Book of Friends. In the action series MEGALO BOX, including its sequel MEGALO BOX 2: Nomad, she provided the voice for the character Asamoto. Other anime credits include roles in Hell Girl, Blood+, and Ranking of Kings, where she voiced the character Ann.

In the realm of video games, she has taken on several high-profile roles. She is the Japanese voice of Mia Winters in the critically acclaimed survival horror games Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village. She also voiced the character Benedikta Harman in the major role-playing game Final Fantasy XVI. Her other game credits include The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Life is Strange. Beyond animation and games, her narration work is a substantial part of her career. She has been a recurring voice for NHK's documentary programs, including Earth Dramatic, for over a decade, often voicing multiple characters within a single episode.

While she may not have a collection of major public awards, Higuchi has earned a strong reputation within the industry and among fans for her consistent, high-quality work and remarkable vocal range. Her long-running contribution to major NHK documentaries has made her a familiar and trusted voice to Japanese audiences. In addition to her performance work, she has also been active in mentoring and advising up-and-coming voice actors since the late 2010s, offering studio recording experiences and career guidance.