Minori Chihara (茅原実里); known as Minorin (みのりん) to her fans, was born on November 18, 1980 in Tochigi prefecture, Japan. She is a seiyuu (Japanese voice actress) under Avex Planning & Development. Her debut role was Natsume Aya from Tenjo Tenge, but her popularity escalated when she was cast as Nagato Yuki from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. She is credited for many other roles, such as Minami Chiaki from Minami-ke, Shirakawa Nanaka from Da Capo II, and Toa from Dragonaut.

Apart from being a seiyuu, she is also a J-pop singer. Since her first album, with King Records, HEROINE (2004), she has switched to Lantis and has released two singles in January and June 2007, Junpaku Sanctuary (純白サンクチュアリィ) and Kimi ga Kureta Ano hi (君がくれたあの日) respectively, in which the latter reached the Top 20 on the ORICON charts. Her 1st Re-start album, Contact, released on October 24, 2007, peaking at #11.

In 2008, she had her 1st tour, held in three performances during the month of February 2008, with an additional three later announced in March. She released three singles: Melty tale storage on March 26, Ameagari no Hana yo Sake (雨上がりの花よ咲け) on August 6, and Paradise Lost on November 5, which was her first song used as an anime theme (喰霊-零-/Ga-rei zero). Her second album, Parade, released November 26.

In 2009, she had her 2nd tour with 10 venues. Her 6th single, Tomorrow's Chance, released June 3. She will hold her first outdoor live, "SUMMER CAMP", on August 1&2.

She has been a guest performer for Animelo Summer Live since 2006, however 2007 was the first time she performed as a solo artist, and has kept it that way since. Outside of Japan, she has performed in several other countries, including the US, Taiwan, and Malaysia.

Her hobbies include writing songs and playing on her guitar, having been influenced by her father. Her favorite artist is B'z and she is a member of their fanclub. She updates her blog, minorhythm daily, often including photos. The name of her blog came from her following of fans, known to be "Minorists", or followers of Minorism (which incidentally sounds like minorhythm in Japanese). Her official fanclub is called minori smile seasons.