Rie Kitahara

 is a Japanese idol, singer and actress formerly associated with the Japanese idol girl group NGT48 and former member of AKB48 and SKE48. She debuted in 2008 in Team A and was later co-captain of Team K (2014). In March 2015, it was announced Kitahara would be transferred to NGT48 as captain of the group. She has sung on many of the groups' main singles, having been voted number 13, 16, 13, 13, 21, 19, 11 and 12 in AKB48's General Elections. In 2017, for her final participation, she was voted number 10 which is her best rank ever. 
Since 2011, Kitahara is also a member of the AKB48 subgroup Not Yet.
She is currently represented with Ohta Production.
Biography.
Kitahara was born in Ichinomiya, Aichi. In 2009, she was placed 13th overall in AKB48's general election to determine the participants in its next single.
On August 13, 2010, Kitahara debuted as a voice actress in the anime series "".
In AKB48's 2012 general election, Kitahara placed 13th with 26,531 votes. She made her acting debut in the movie "Graffreeter Toki", which was released on July 14, 2012 in Japan. At the end of the year, she was a cast member on the first season of the reality television show "", where she lived together with five other people.
On August 24, 2012, the first day of AKB48's 3-Tokyo-Dome-concert series, the group announced a reorganization, which placed Kitahara from Team B to Team K, and also made her a concurrent member of AKB48 and SKE48. She debuted with Team S on February 13, 2013. She was transferred from Team S to Team KII, but did not debut with the new team.. In April, SKE48 announced it was ending Kitahara's concurrency with the group, which leaves her only with AKB48's Team K.
As a member of the sub-group Not Yet, she is credited for the lyrics of "Guilty Love" (part of the Suika Baby single)
Kitahara starred in the Japanese horror movie "Joker Game", released on December 22, 2012. She also appeared in the drama remake, "Kazoku Game", which aired on Fuji TV starting April 2013, as a girlfriend of a son of a prominent family member.
On August 21, 2017, she announced she will be leaving NGT48. She graduated on April 18, 2018.