China Forbes

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China Forbes
Forbes performs in a 2006 concert with Pink Martini. Background information Born April 29, 1970(1970-04-29) (age 38)
Cambridge, MassachusettsOccupation(s) singer Label(s)Heinz Records Associated acts Pink MartiniWebsite http://www.chinaforbes.com/

China Forbes (born April 29, 1970) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer of Pink Martini.

Forbes was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[1] She attended Phillips Exeter Academy ('88)[citation needed], then studied visual arts at Harvard University [1], where she met fellow student Thomas M. Lauderdale, a classically-trained pianist.[2] They became friends and met regularly to play music together.[2]

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.[1]

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.[2] After three years, she moved to Portland in 1998 to work full-time with the band.[2]

Apart from her efforts with Pink Martini, Forbes has released two solo albums: