[1] Shimada was the only female member of Shōgun's massive cast of Japanese actors shown speaking English, for which she relied on a dialogue coach, as she was not fluent in the language at the time.
In 1981, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama,[2][1] and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her work on Shōgun.
[3] While the nine-hour long Shōgun was a critical success in the U.S., it flopped in Japan when it was released as a severely truncated theatrical version.
She reportedly had resorted to alcoholism and appeared in a nude photo book in 1992[4] in an attempt to clear her personal debts.
[1] Shimada died at a hospital in Tokyo on 25 July 2022, due to complications from colorectal cancer.