Echo V. Aoki is the daughter of the famous Japanese-born American amateur wrestler and restaurateur, Hiroaki Aoki. Raised in the USA as a Japanese-American celebrity kid, Echo has an extended family, including two siblings, Steve, an American DJ and music producer, and Devon Aoki, an American actress and fashion model. Her father, Rocky Aoki, has seven children in total with three women.
Her Father, Hiroaki Aoki
Hiroaki Aoki was born in Tokyo in 1938, the son of Yunosuke Aoki and his wife, Katsu. Aoki attended Keio University and competed in track and field, karate, and wrestling, winning the United States flyweight title in 1962, 1963, and 1964. After completing his studies, Aoki moved to New York City in 1965 and worked seven days a week in an ice cream truck while studying restaurant management at New York City Community College. He eventually opened the first Benihana (derived from the Japanese name for safflower) restaurant in New York in 1964, and the chain quickly grew to become a nationwide success. Aoki launched Genesis, a softcore pornographic men’s magazine, in 1973 and partially funded and crewed the Double Eagle V, the first balloon to cross the Pacific Ocean, in 1981.
In 1999, Aoki pleaded guilty to insider trading charges and was fined $500,000 and given three years’ probation. Despite this misstep, his legacy as a business leader and innovator remained largely intact. He was the recipient of The International Center in New York’s Award of Excellence. Aoki died of pneumonia in New York City in 2008.
Her half-sister, Devon Aoki
Devon Aoki is a model, actress and fashion icon. She was born on August 10, 1982, in New York City to Hiroaki Aoki and jewelry designer Pamela Hilburger. Aoki began her modeling career at 13, and has since modeled for brands such as Balenciaga, Comme des Garçons and Chanel, and appeared in advertising campaigns for Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Kenzo, Hugo Boss, L’Oreal, Lancome and Tiffany & Co.She has also acted in films such as 2 Fast 2 Furious, D.E.B.S., Sin City, Dead or Alive, War, Mutant Chronicles and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead. Aoki retired from full-time film acting in 2009 to focus on motherhood. She has been featured in music videos for Duran Duran, Primal Scream, Ludacris, Ginuwine, Sean Lennon, The Killers, Fergie, and Steve Aoki feat. BTS. In April 2019, Marie Claire listed her as one of the 15 supermodels of the 2000s who changed the face of fashion.
Her half-brother, Steve Aoki
Steve Hiroyuki Aoki (born November 30, 1977) is an American DJ and music producer who is widely recognized for his remixes of artists such as Kid Cudi and his Billboard-charting studio albums, notably Wonderland (nominated for Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronica Album in 2013). He has collaborated with Will.i.am, Alan Walker, Afrojack, LMFAO, TINI, Linkin Park, AGNEZ MO, Iggy Azalea, Lil Jon, blink-182, Taking Back Sunday, Laidback Luke, BTS, Monsta X, Louis Tomlinson, Backstreet Boys, Rise Against, Vini Vici, Lauren Jauregui, and Fall Out Boy. In 2012, Pollstar designated Aoki as the highest-grossing electronic dance music artist in North America from tours.
