Haruko Katō was a Japanese actress whose career spanned over seven decades, during which she contributed to film, television, and theatre. While she was primarily known as a live-action dramatic actress, her work as a voice actor for animated films has garnered significant recognition, particularly through her collaborations with Studio Ghibli.

Katō was born in Tokyo on November 24, 1922. She began her acting career after attending drama school, signing with the film production company Toho in 1939. Over the ensuing decades, she built a substantial career in Japanese cinema and television, often portraying elegant or maternal figures.

Her most prominent voice role came late in her career when she was cast as Madame Suliman in Hayao Miyazaki's 2004 film Howl's Moving Castle. In the film, Madame Suliman is the royal court sorceress, a powerful and calculating former teacher of the protagonist Howl. Katō provided the character's voice for the original Japanese-language version of the film.

Prior to this, Katō had another notable voice role in a Studio Ghibli production. In 1989, she voiced Madame in Kiki's Delivery Service. This marked the beginning of her collaboration with director Hayao Miyazaki, which would later lead to her role in Howl's Moving Castle.

Earlier in her career, she also performed voice work in the 1969 adult anime film A Thousand and One Nights, where she played the role of Genie.

For her contributions to the arts, Katō received several honors. She won the Kunio Kishida Drama Award in 1953 and the Kazuo Kikuta Drama Award in 1999. In 2002, she was decorated with the Order of the Precious Crown, a Japanese imperial honor. Haruko Katō passed away at her home in Tokyo on November 2, 2015, at the age of 92.