Biography: China Lee

China Lee (born Margaret Lee September 2, 1942) is an American model and actress. She was Playboy's Playmate of the Month for the August 1964 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Pompeo Posar. She was the first Asian American Playmate. According to her Playmate profile, her name is pronounced "chee-na" to rhyme with "Tina".

Lee was born in New Orleans, Louisiana to Chinese parents who had emigrated to the United States after their marriage. The family owned a laundry. She is the youngest of eight children. One of her brothers, Harry Lee, was the longtime sheriff of Jefferson Parish, a suburb of New Orleans, before he died in October 2007.

Lee worked as a hairstylist and waitress, then as a Playboy Club Bunny, before appearing in Playboy. She had been a "Training Bunny," which required her to travel to different Playboy Clubs to teach prospective Bunnies their duties.

Lee appeared at the end of Woody Allen's What's Up, Tiger Lily?, performing a striptease.

She married comedian Mort Sahl in 1967. They divorced in 1991. Their only child, Mort Sahl, Jr. died on March 27, 1996 at the age of 19.

Partial filmography

• Medium Cool (1969)
• Don't Make Waves (1967)
• Good Times (1967)
• The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1967)
• The Swinger (1966)
• What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966)
• Harper (1966) .... Dancer
• Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965)
• The Troublemaker (1964)

See also

• List of people in Playboy 1960-1969

References

1. Archerd, Army (1996-06-21). "Copperfield Act Could Blow Away Auds". Variety. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
   See the latter part of paragraph 2