China Forbes
Encyclopedia
China Forbes is an American singer and songwriter
, best known as the lead singer of Pink Martini
.
Forbes was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts
. Her father is American of French
/Scottish
descent, and her mother is African American
. She attended Phillips Exeter Academy
('88), then studied visual arts at Harvard University
, where she met fellow student Thomas M. Lauderdale
, a classically-trained pianist. They became friends and met regularly to play music together.
After graduating from Harvard in 1992, where she won the Jonathan Levy Prize for acting, Forbes worked as an actress for several years, performing off-Broadway
in New York
. 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 "Que Sera Sera" used over the opening and closing credits of Jane Campion
's 2003 film In the Cut
.
Lauderdale, who by then was 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 efforts with Pink Martini, Forbes has released two solo albums:
China is featured on Michael Feinstein
's album The Sinatra Project
, singing a duet of “How Will It Last?”
It was announced at the Walt Disney Concert Hall
in Los Angeles
, CA, on New Year's Eve 2008, that China is expecting her first child. Her child, named Cameron, was born soon after.
On June 21, 2011 Pink Martini announced that China is 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.
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, best known as the lead singer of Pink Martini
Pink Martini
Pink Martini is a 13-member "little orchestra" from Portland, Oregon, formed in 1994 by pianist Thomas M. Lauderdale. They draw inspiration from music from all over the world – crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop.-History:...
.
Forbes was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. Her father is American of French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
/Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
descent, and her mother is African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
. She attended Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
('88), then studied visual arts at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where she met fellow student Thomas M. Lauderdale
Thomas M. Lauderdale
Thomas Mack Lauderdale is a musician, largely known for his work with the Portland-based band Pink Martini.-Early life:...
, a classically-trained pianist. They became friends and met regularly to play music together.
After graduating from Harvard in 1992, where she won the Jonathan Levy Prize for acting, Forbes worked as an actress for several years, performing off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. 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
Clueless (TV series)
Clueless is a television series spun off from the 1995 teen film of the same name . The series originally premiered on ABC on September 20, 1996 as a part of the TGIF lineup during its first season...
and the version of "Que Sera Sera" used over the opening and closing credits of Jane Campion
Jane Campion
Jane Campion is a filmmaker and screenwriter. She is one of the most internationally successful New Zealand directors, although most of her work has been made in or financed by other countries, principally Australia – where she now lives – and the United States...
's 2003 film In the Cut
In the Cut
In the Cut is a 2003 American erotic thriller and mystery film, written and directed by Jane Campion and starring Meg Ryan, Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Campion's screenplay is an adaption of the novel of the same name by Susanna Moore...
.
Lauderdale, who by then was living in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, asked her to sing with Pink Martini
Pink Martini
Pink Martini is a 13-member "little orchestra" from Portland, Oregon, formed in 1994 by pianist Thomas M. Lauderdale. They draw inspiration from music from all over the world – crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop.-History:...
, 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 efforts with Pink Martini, Forbes has released two solo albums:
- Love Handle (1995)
- 78 (2008, Heinz RecordsHeinz RecordsHeinz Records is an independent record label based in Portland, Oregon. The label was founded in 1997 by Thomas M. Lauderdale and the band Pink Martini....
)
China is featured on Michael Feinstein
Michael Feinstein
Michael Jay Feinstein is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an interpreter of, and an anthropologist and archivist for, the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for celebrating American musical theatre songs...
's album The Sinatra Project
The Sinatra Project
The Sinatra Project is a 2008 studio album by the American singer Michael Feinstein, recorded in tribute to the singer Frank Sinatra...
, singing a duet of “How Will It Last?”
It was announced at the Walt Disney Concert Hall
Walt Disney Concert Hall
The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Avenue, 1st and 2nd Streets, it seats 2,265 people and serves as the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra and the...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, CA, on New Year's Eve 2008, that China is expecting her first child. Her child, named Cameron, was born soon after.
On June 21, 2011 Pink Martini announced that China is 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.
External links
- Official site
- Pink Martini – band members biographical information