[7] In addition to photo collections and weekly magazines, her popularity as a gravure idol increased with appearances on local programs such as Cosmo Angel.

[citation needed] Ayase made her acting debut in 2001 in part 3 of Kindaichi Shōnen no Jikenbo starring Jun Matsumoto.

She was selected as a cast member of Socrates in Love in 2004, for which she won Best Supporting Actress at the 42nd Television Drama Academy Awards for her portrayal of Aki Hirose, a high schooler with leukemia.

[9] Ayase shaved her hair and changed her weight in order to match Masami Nagasawa's portrayal of the character in the film.

[citation needed] On March 24, 2006, Ayase made her debut as a singer with the single "Period", produced by Takeshi Kobayashi.

The scheme defaulted on repayments to Ayase's company in May 2021, and the accountant's son arranged for a full refund of the investment.

[34] Ayase is a popular product spokesperson in Japan,[35] appearing in commercials for major consumer brands such as Coca-Cola,[36] SK-II,[37] and KFC.

[39][40] In March 2011, she launched the awareness for raising about the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear disaster and invited Japanese and international celebrities to add their videos for triple tragedy in Japan.

Despite Fukushima crisis, she made a call to action to support the victims of triple disaster and to raise funds in the relief effort.