Yazawa Ai

Ai Yazawa attended a fashion school after high school but did not complete her studies there. Debuted with "Ano Natsu" in 1985 on Ribon Original.

In 2003, she got the Shogakukan Manga Award for Nana in girls' (shoujo) manga category.

Her pen name comes from Japanese singer Eikichi Yazawa, of whom she is a fan.

In 2009, Yazwa put Nana on indefinite hiatus after she contracted a serious disease. She got out of the hospital in 2010, but she admitted in a statement that she wasn’t sure if she’ll ever return to manga work for health reasons. Nana’s last update came in 2013, where Yazawa made a two-page special for the 100th issue celebration of the manga’s magazine, Shojo Beat.

(Source: Mangaupdates)