China Forbes is an American singer and songwriter born on April 29, 1970. She has been the lead vocalist of the band Pink Martini since 1995 and was honored with the Ella Fitzgerald award at the Montreal International Jazz Festival in 2022.
China Forbes was raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by her parents, Peggy (née Woodford) and Donald Cameron Forbes. Her father had French and Scottish ancestry, while her mother is African-American. She attended Phillips Exeter Academy, graduating in 1988, before studying visual arts at Harvard University.
At Harvard, China won the Jonathan Levy Prize for acting and met Thomas Lauderdale, a classically trained pianist, with whom she formed a lifelong friendship. After graduating in 1992, she worked as an actress in New York City, performing Off-Broadway and later releasing a solo album.
In the late 1990s, China moved to Portland, Oregon, to join Pink Martini, a band founded by Lauderdale, and has since become a key contributor to the band's music, co-writing hits like "Sympathique (Je ne Veux Pas Travailler)" with Lauderdale.
Apart from her work with Pink Martini, China has released solo albums, including "Love Handle" and "'78", and has collaborated with other artists, such as Michael Feinstein and Georges Moustaki. She is also a cousin of former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and indie-rock musician Ed Droste, and her sister is screenwriter and director Maya Forbes.
China Forbes is a talented and accomplished musician, with a diverse range of musical styles and collaborations.
