China Eiko Chow (born 15 April 1974) is a British-born American

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and model.

Life

Chow was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to restaurateur Michael Chow and his wife, model/designer Tina Chow (). Her paternal grandfather was the

Peking Opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

Zhou Xinfang Zhou Xinfang (14 January 1895 – 8 March 1975), also known by his stage name (meaning "Qilin Boy") was a Chinese actor and musician who was a Peking opera actor who specialized in its "old male" (, ''laosheng'') roles. He is considered one of ...

. Her paternal aunt is actress and former " Bond girl" Tsai Chin. Her maternal aunt is the artist Adelle Lutz. Through Lutz's 1987 marriage, her uncle is

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

. Her parents left London for New York in 1980, when she was 5 years old. They then relocated to Los Angeles in 1985. Her mother, who was born in Ohio, was of German and Japanese ancestry and her father is Chinese. She has a younger brother, Maximilian (b. 1978). Her parents divorced in November 1989. In 1992, Chow's mother Tina died of

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

. The same year, Chow's father married Eva Chun, a Korean fashion designer and Chow gained a half-sister, Asia Chow (b. 1994).Morris, Bob. 20 December 2011. In February 2019, her father married his fourth wife, Vanessa Rano, who is 49 years his junior. Through this marriage, Chow has a half-brother, Phoenix Chow (b. 2019) and half-sister Skye Chow (b. 2021). Chow was in a relationship with actor

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Mark Wahlberg, multiple accolades, including a B ...

for four years after meeting on the set of the 1998 film ''The Big Hit''. She was in a relationship with English actor and comedian

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, whi ...

from 2007 until 2011. She has also been romantically linked to actor

Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in '' Youngblood'' (1986). ...

. Since February 2018, she has been in a relationship with English musician

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

Education

She attended the Lycée Français de Los Angeles. After graduating, she went to

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...

for two years before transferring to

Scripps College Scripps College is a private liberal arts women's college in Claremont, California. It was founded as a member of the Claremont Colleges in 1926, a year after the consortium's formation. Journalist and philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps p ...

Claremont, California Claremont () is a suburban city on the eastern edge of Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles. It is in the Pomona Valley, at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 census it had a popu ...

, where she graduated with a psychology degree in May 1997. She was the first in her family to graduate from college.

Career

Chow was discovered as a prospective fashion model by Roger Museenden. She spent several years following in her mother's footsteps working as a model for

Shiseido is a Japanese multinational cosmetic company founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1872. Its product categories consist of: skin care, makeup, body care, hair care, and fragrances. The company is one of the oldest cosmetic companies in the world ...

cosmetics,

Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( /hɪlˈfɪgər/; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's Place in upst ...

and

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, an ...

. Her modeling led to her being named one of ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the ...

''s "It Girls" in 1996 and an appearance in the December 1996 edition of ''Vogue'''s "The Next Best-Dressed List".China Chow, With a Look of Her Own Making
''The New York Times''; 20 December 2011. In 2000, she posed for ''

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...

'' and was featured in their gallery, ''Girls of Maxim''. She was ranked No. 22 and No. 54 on the ''Maxim Hot 100 Women'' (2000 and 2001, respectively). Chow made her acting debut in 1998, starring opposite

in ''

The Big Hit ''The Big Hit'' is a 1998 American action comedy film directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Che-Kirk Wong, and stars Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christina Applegate, Bokeem Woodbine, Antonio Sabàto Jr., China Chow, Avery Brooks, Lainie Kazan, ...

''. In 2004, she appeared in ''

Frankenfish ''Frankenfish'' is a 2004 American horror film dealing with genetically engineered fish in the bayou. Filmed in Baldwin County, Alabama, a pack of massive, bloodthirsty, genetically engineered fish combing the quiet waters of the river in the Lo ...

''. Three years later, Chow appeared on

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madi ...

's first season of ''

Burn Notice ''Burn Notice'' is an American espionage television series created by Matt Nix, which originally aired on the USA Network for a total of seven seasons from June 28, 2007, to September 12, 2013. The show stars Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar ...

''. She was the host and a judge of Bravo's '' Work of Art: The Next Great Artist'', which premiered on 9 June 2010. Chow provided the voice of Katie Zhan in '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas''.

Filmography

*''

'' (1998) *'' Head Over Heels'' (2001) *'' Spun'' (2002) *''

'' (2004)

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chow, China 1974 births English video game actresses English people of American descent English people of Chinese descent English people of German descent English people of Japanese descent English people of Scottish descent Living people Actresses from London Scripps College alumni English film actresses English television actresses Actresses from New York City American actresses of Chinese descent American actresses of Japanese descent American people of German descent American people of Scottish descent American film actresses American television actresses American video game actresses American film actors of Asian descent