{{short description|American model and actress (born 1942)}} {{Infobox Playboy Playmate | name = China Lee | image = | imagesize = | caption = | issue = August 1964 | birth_name = Margaret Lee | birth_place = New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1942|9|2}} | death_date = | death_place = | height = 5 ft 4.5 in | preceded = Melba Ogle | succeeded = Astrid Schulz }}
'''China Lee''' (pronounced ''Chee-na'';<ref>{{Cite journal |title=China Lee |journal=Playboy |date=August 1964 |volume= |issue=8}}</ref> 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 and the first Asian American Playmate. Her centerfold was photographed by Pompeo Posar.<ref name=augkingly>{{cite web|url=http://wekinglypigs.com/cgi-bin/nand/search/pmstat?browse=%3A%3ACONFIG%3A%3Amodelbrowse&key=lee%2C+china&limit=0|title=Playmate data|access-date=December 19, 2017}}</ref> According to her Playmate profile, her name is pronounced "chee-na" to rhyme with "Tina".
==Early life== Lee was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Chinese parents who immigrated to the United States after marriage. The family-owned a laundry and, later, a much-lauded restaurant. She is the youngest of eight children and the younger sister of Harry Lee, who served as the sheriff of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana for about 28 years.<ref name=leesibling>{{cite magazine |last=Feng |first=Rex |title=Showdown With The 'Chinese Cowboy': Wrangling with the legacy of late Louisiana Sheriff Harry Lee |url=http://www.asianweek.com/2007/11/12/showdown-with-the-%E2%80%98chinese-cowboy%E2%80%99-wrangling-with-the-legacy-of-late-louisiana-sheriff-harry-lee/ |date=November 12, 2007 |magazine=AsianWeek |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005143654/http://www.asianweek.com/2007/11/12/showdown-with-the-%E2%80%98chinese-cowboy%E2%80%99-wrangling-with-the-legacy-of-late-louisiana-sheriff-harry-lee/ |archivedate=October 5, 2012 |issn=0195-2056}}</ref> The name "China" is derived from the nickname "Chinita" ("little Chinese girl") bestowed on her by Spanish-speaking neighbors who admired her dancing as a child.
==Career== Lee worked as a hairstylist and waitress, then as a Playboy 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.
==Personal life== Lee 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.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://variety.com/1996/voices/columns/copperfield-act-could-blow-away-auds-1117862937/ |title=Copperfield Act Could Blow Away Auds |first=Army |last=Archerd |author-link=Army Archerd |magazine=Variety |date=June 21, 1996 |issn=0042-2738}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"delete |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1964|| ''The Troublemaker'' || The Hooker || |- |1965|| ''Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine'' || Robot || |- |1966|| ''Harper'' || Dancer || Uncredited |- |1966|| ''Paradise, Hawaiian Style'' || Girl || Uncredited |- |1966|| ''What's Up, Tiger Lily?'' || Dancer in Credits || Uncredited |- |1966|| ''The Swinger'' || Model || Uncredited |- |1967|| ''The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.'' || Vivian || Episode: "The Double-O-Nothing Affair" |- |1967|| ''Good Times'' || Mordicus' Girl || |- |1967|| ''Don't Make Waves'' || Waitress || Uncredited |- |1969|| ''Medium Cool'' || Roller Derby Patron || (final film role) |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|id=0497002}} * {{Discogs artist|China Lee}}
{{playmates of 1964}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, China}} Category:1942 births Category:Living people Category:American Playboy Playmates of Asian descent Category:American people of Chinese descent Category:Actresses from New Orleans Category:1960s Playboy Playmates Category:Äva Records artists Category:21st-century American women