Akie Kotabe was born in Lansing, Michigan on July 18th, 1980. Academics were a priority during childhood.

At the age of 6, Akie moved to Columbia, Missouri. With the exception of six months in Sao Paulo, Brazil, he was raised in Austin, Texas where he graduated from the University of Texas at Austin.  His father's professorial commitments involved frequent travel, so Akie spent his teen years staying for brief periods in various places spending a summer in France, Germany and Finland, to bi-annual summer stays in Tokyo and Mito, Japan.

During college, the acting bug struck, and his first TV appearance was on the Jamie Kennedy Experiment, playing a college guy helping set up a prank in the episode.

After graduating from University of Texas at Austin, he moved to Tokyo to further pursue his acting interests. He performed at the New National Theatre in a production of Macbeth as Malcolm.   He then decided to make the move to Los Angeles.

Recent TV credits include All My Children, Mad Men, Southland, Without a Trace, CSI: Miami, and Ghost Whisperer. Film credits include Midgets vs. Mascots and The Achievers.

Akie lives with his wife Chloe Mayer, and dog Bambi.