China Forbes was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts and graduated cum laude from Harvard, majoring in Visual Arts and English, with a minor in Theater. After graduation, and before being lured West to sing with Pink Martini by Harvard friend and classmate Thomas Lauderdale, China lived performed off Broadway, in New York regional theatre and as a singer/songwriter in NYC clubs. 

China became the lead singer for Pink Martini in 1995 and has co-written many of the bands most beloved songs with Lauderdale, starting with “Sympathique”, and continuing to the most recent singles “Lemonade Song” and “Let’s Be Friends”. Her original song “Northern Line” plays over the end credits of sister Maya Forbes’ directorial debut film Infinitely Polar Bear (Sony Pictures Classics). Last year China Forbes released her post-pandemic anthem “Full Circle” followed by her suicide song “Rise”, both singles for the forthcoming third solo album, which will be released in May of 2024. In 2022, China was the recipient of the Ella Fitzgerald Award at the Montreal International Jazz Festival; previous winners include Diana Ross, Etta James, and Liza Minelli.