She is best known to Japanese television drama audiences as Akane Imai (今井 茜, Imai Akane) in Kids War (キッズ・ウォー, Kid's War), as Makino Tsukushi in the Boys Over Flowers series,[1][2] and as Sugi Fumi (ja) in the 54th taiga drama Burning Flower.

She also appeared in a number of films including I Give My First Love to You, Rebirth and The Snow White Murder Case.

After the success of the two Boys Over Flowers dramas, a film for the franchise was announced in August 2007, just months after the end of the 2007 sequel.

In April of the following year, My Darling is a Foreigner was released in theaters with Inoue starring opposite Jonathan Sherr.

[5] She also starred in the 84th asadora drama Ohisama (おひさま, The Sun), portraying a young woman who lived through World War II in Nagano prefecture.

In February 2011, Inoue, together with Yutaka Takenouchi, co-starred in Oba: The Last Samurai, a film about World War II holdout Captain Sakae Ōba.

Inoue was chosen to chair the Red team in the New Year's Eve Singing Contest Kōhaku Uta Gassen 2011.

[9][needs update] It was announced in May 2012 that Inoue would play the lead role in a summer drama called Tokkan Tokubetsu Kokuzei Choushukan,[10] reuniting her with director Tsuna Hiichatta.

In March 2014, Inoue appeared in a leading role in the mystery suspense film The Snow White Murder Case, directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura.

[12] In June 2014, it was announced that Inoue would play the lead role of Sugi Fumi in the 2015 NHK taiga drama, Burning Flower.

[15] In 2019, Inoue starred in a comedic and cinematic period film Talking the Pictures and the special 5-episode NHK drama titled Boy Torajiro.

In May 2020, it was confirmed that Inoue will have a role in the NTV drama Pay To Ace alongside Yuya Yagira and Shigeaki Kato.

Inoue revealed in one show that her mother encouraged her to join performing acts to learn at the age of 4.

In 2005, at 18, Inoue enrolled in Meiji University, majoring in theater and literature; she chose Chinese as her second language elective.