She has appeared in several films, including The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) and Handsome Suit (2008), and has played leading roles in the TV Dramas Mop Girl (2007), Homeroom on the Beachside (2008), Buzzer Beat (2009), Lady Saigo no Hanzai Profile (2011),[1] and Akumu-chan (2012).

Her parents were initially opposed, but they gave their permission on two conditions: that she give up if she was making no progress within a year, and that she put her studies first and graduate from university.

[10] As an actress, Kitagawa was given the role of Rei Hino in the live action television series of Sailor Moon, which began her acting career.

Her first significant film role was in Mamiya Kyōdai, and as result of the influence of the director, Yoshimitsu Morita, she decided to concentrate on acting rather than modeling.

She traveled to California to film The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, and returned there to study English for a couple of months early in 2006.

[14] The same year, Kitagawa won the Japanese Television Academy Award for Best Actress for Ie Uru Onna.