Tsai Chin was born in 1937 in China to Zhou Xinfang, a Peking Opera actor. She spent her early life in Shanghai. Her brother, Michael Chow, owns a famous restaurant chain. She has been married to two men: Frank Chang and Peter Coe. She is divorced from both of them with one child from Chang. In 1951, Chin was the first Chinese actress to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Later, she became an associate member. She earned a Master's Degree in Drama at Tufts University in Boston. In 1980, after the end of the Cultural Revolution, she was invited by the Chinese Minister of
… More Culture to teach acting at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing. She has starred in movies such as Red Corner, The Interpreter and The Joy Luck Club.