09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Who is Yoko Ono's daughter Kyoko Chan Cox? John Lennon's stepdaughter is now an artist, but she was kidnapped by her father as a child and didn't speak to her mum for nearly 30 years
Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter and peace activist Yoko Ono has certainly led a life packed with unforgettable moments – including giving birth to her two children, Kyoko Chan Cox and
Sean Taro Ono Lennon
Anthony Cox and Yoko Ono with their daughter Kyoko Cox. Photo: @Rosa_sol/X
Ono has been married three times, but it was her second marriage – to filmmaker Anthony Cox – that first made her a mother (Ono later welcomed son Sean in 1975 with her third husband John Lennon). Ono and Cox had daughter Kyoko in 1963 but after a bitter divorce and a prolonged custody battle, the child ended up living with her father, leaving Ono on the sidelines of her daughter's upbringing. The pair only began building a relationship in 1994 after Kyoko became a mother herself.
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Kyoko Chan Cox at the Broadway opening night of the musical Lennon in New York.
From her difficult early years, to rebuilding her relationship with her mother, here's everything we know about Kyoko Chan Cox.
Kyoko Chan Cox is Yoko Ono's first daughter
John Lennon and Yoko Ono arrive at London Airport with Kyoko Cox in 1969.
Kyoko was born in August 1963 in Tokyo, Japan, just a couple of months after her parents, Yoko Ono and American film producer Anthony Cox, has their second (and only official) wedding, per People. However, their marital bliss was short-lived. When Kyoko was five, her parents split, setting the stage for a complicated family drama.
Yoko and Kyoko's custody nightmare
John Lennon and Yoko Ono traversed the globe trying to reconnect with Kyoko. Photo: @Rosa_sol/X
After their split was made official in 1969, Ono quickly moved on, marrying John Lennon. But the real drama unfolded in the courtroom as she battled Cox for custody of Kyoko. Cox, determined not to lose, whisked Kyoko away to Denmark.
According to the Daily Express, Ono and Lennon flew to Mallorca in 1969 after discovering that Cox and Kyoko were there. The pair attempted to take Kyoko from her hotel's playroom but the attempt was foiled and they were arrested by Spanish police instead. At the end of December that year, Ono and Lennon flew to Denmark hoping to smooth things over and see Kyoko. But in 1971, Cox was granted full custody of Kyoko and he promptly went underground; Ono and Lennon reportedly spent nearly US$1.5 million flying around the world trying to track down Cox and Kyoko.
