Kyoko Chan Cox

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Kyoko Chan Cox (born August 3, 1963) is the daughter of Yoko Ono and jazz musician Anthony Cox, and is Sean Lennon's half-sister. Kyoko spent her earliest years surrounded by a variety of artist, musicians, and film-makers. Cox raised her alone from 1965 to 1969 after Yoko Ono left him. She divorced him in 1969.

In 1971, while studying with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Majorca, Cox accused Yoko Ono of abducting Kyoko from his hotel. A large number of accusations were then made by both parents toward each other and the matter of custody. Cox eventually moved to Houston, Texas and converted to evangelical Christianity with his wife who was originally from Houston. At the end of 1971, a custody hearing in Houston went against Cox. In violation of the order, he took Kyoko and disappeared. Yoko Ono then launched a search for her daughter with the aid of the police and private detectives.

Cox had fled to Los Angeles where he lived with a friend who was associated with the Church of the Living Word. He joined the group in 1972 and then lived in various communities associated with the group in Iowa and California. In 1977, Cox left the group. In 1978 Cox and Kyoko stayed with the Jesus People USA commune in Chicago, where Kyoko went by the assumed name of "Molly".

After the murder of John Lennon in 1980, Cox along with Kyoko (then 17 years old) sent a message of sympathy to Yoko Ono but did not reveal their location. There was a reconciliation to a small degree between the two afterward though Cox did not allow Kyoko to contact Yoko Ono. Yoko Ono afterward printed an open letter to Kyoko saying how she missed her but that she would cease her attempts to find her.^[1]

Kyoko next appeared in 1986 when she was listed as an associate producer on a documentary film made by Cox about his involvement in the Church of the Living Word called Vain Glory. Cox resurfaced in public in the same year, but Kyoko did not.

Kyoko, fully-grown and married, and during her pregnancy decided to re-establish a connection with her own mother. Ono and Kyoko reunited in 1998. Although Kyoko prefers to remain very much away from publicity, she did grant an interview where she revealed that her reunion with Ono was a very happy one, and they remain in close contact to this day. Kyoko made a rare public appearance in August 2005 at the opening of "Lennon, the Musical."

Kyoko has two children, Emi and Jack.