China Forbes was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She graduatedcum laude from Harvard, majoring in painting and English literature, with a minor in theater. After winning the Jonathan Levy Prize at Harvard for “most promising actor,” Forbes earned her Equity card appearing in New York regional theater and off-Broadway productions while also performing regularly as a singer/songwriter in NYC clubs. Her first album Love Handle (November Records) was released in 1995 and she was chosen to sing “Ordinary Girl,” the theme song to the TV spin-off of the movie, Clueless (ABC/UPN).
It was then that Harvard friend and classmate Thomas Lauderdale invited her to sing with fledgling Portland, Oregon band Pink Martini. China has fronted the little orchestra ever since. Co-writing many of Pink Martini’s most beloved songs with Lauderdale beginning with “Sympathique (Je ne veux pas travailler),” the duo also composed “Lilly,” “Hang on Little Tomato,” “Una Notte a Napoli,” “The Lemonade Song” and “Let’s Never Stop Falling in Love,” among many others. In 2000, “Sympathique” was nominated for song of the year at (the French Grammy awards) Les Victoires de la Musique.
Forbes’s original song “Hey Eugene” appears on her second solo album ’78 (Heinz Records), a collection of autobiographical folk-rock songs, and is also the title track of Pink Martini’s third album. Her voice and songs have been featured prominently on acclaimed film and television soundtracks such as Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Hitch, Emily in Paris, Parks and Rec, Money Heist, Sherlock and season two of The White Lotus. She sings “Que Sera, Sera” over the credits of Jane Campion’s film In the Cut, and her original song “The Northern Line” plays over the end credits of sister Maya Forbes’ autobiographical directorial debut Infinitely Polar Bear (Sony Pictures Classics).
With Pink Martini, Forbes has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, Later with Jools Holland, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and twice on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. She has duetted with Rufus Wainwright, Michael Feinstein, Carol Channing and Little Jimmy Scott. Singing in over 20 languages on nine Pink Martini studio albums, China has graced the legendary stages of Carnegie Hall, Red Rocks, the Hollywood Bowl, Paris’s l’Olympia, the Sydney Opera House and Royal Albert Hall.
In 2021 China released her post-pandemic anthem “Full Circle,” followed by her suicide prevention anthem “Rise,” both featured tracks on her upcoming solo album The Road, set for release May 17, 2024. China Forbes is the recipient of the 2022 Ella Fitzgerald Award at the Montreal International Jazz Festival. Previous winners include Diana Ross, Etta James, Liza Minelli, Diana Krall and Aretha Franklin.
