She is the daughter of restauranteur Michael Chow and late model/designer Tina Chow. Her father is Chinese while her mother was Japanese-German. She also has a brother who is 2 years younger.
Career
Before becoming an actress, China was the first college graduate in her family, majoring in psychology at Scripps College. She then spent several years following in her mother's footsteps working as a model for Shiseido cosmetics, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein. Her modeling led to her being named one of Harper's Bazaar's "It Girls" in 1996 and appearing in the December 1996 edition of Vogue magazine's "The Next Best-Dressed List".
She made her acting debut in 1998, starring opposite Mark Wahlberg in The Big Hit.
In 2000, Chow posed for Maxim magazine. Her B&W photo spread is featured on their Girls of Maxim gallery. She was ranked #54 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2001.
