Background
Forbes was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the daughter of Peggy (née Woodford) and Donald Cameron Forbes. Her father was of French/Scottish descent, and her mother is African American.
Forbes was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the daughter of Peggy (née Woodford) and Donald Cameron Forbes. Her father was of French/Scottish descent, and her mother is African American.
China Forbes attended Phillips Exeter Academy ("88), then studied visual arts at Harvard University, where she met fellow student Thomas Lauderdale, a classically trained pianist.
The 2014 feature film Infinitely Polar Bear, written and directed by Forbes"s sister Maya Forbes, was inspired by real-life events in their childhood. They became friends and met regularly to play music together. She then became a musician, forming a band and recording a solo album.
She sang the title song ("Ordinary Girl") for the late 1990s television series Clueless and the version of "Quebec Sera Sera" used over the opening and closing credits of Jane Campion"s 2003 film In the Cut.
Lauderdale, then living in Portland, Oregon, asked her to sing with Pink Martini, a band he had assembled to play at political fundraisers in Portland. After three years, she moved to Portland in 1998 to work full-time with the band.
Apart from her work with Pink Martini, Forbes has released two solo albums:
Love Handle (1995)
"78 (2008, Heinz Records)
China is featured on Michael Feinstein"s album The Sinatra Project, singing a duet of "How Long Will lieutenant Last?"
In 2008, she recorded two songs in French, in duet with famous French singer-composer Georges Moustaki, for his album Solitaire. On June 21, 2011, Pink Martini announced that Forbes was taking an extended leave of absence from performing for at least one year to undergo surgery on her vocal cords.
Guest vocalists were scheduled to fill in for China during her absence.
Forbes is thanked in the liner notes to 1969, the band"s collaboration with Japanese vocalist Saori Yuki. China Forbes is the sister of screenwriter/director Maya Forbes and is a cousin of United States. Secretary of State John Kerry and indie-rock musician Editor Droste of Grizzly Bear.
Pink Martini.