Tina Chow was born Bettina Louise Lutz to a Japanese mother and a German-American father in 1951. In her teens, she and her sister, Adelle Lutz, enjoyed success as models for Japanese cosmetics giant Shiseido's advertising campaign. This was a primer for Tina's future status as a major fashion icon of the 1980s.
She married restaurateur Michael Chow in 1972, and had two children with him: China Chow (born in 1974), who is now an up-and-coming actress, and Maximillian Chow (born in 1977).
Throughout their marriage, Tina helped Michael run his successful restaurant chain, "Mr. Chow's", and enjoyed the benefits of fame and celebrity. The couple lived an elite and exciting nightlife, and were considered to be quite prominent in the New York art world (artist friends included the late Keith Haring, Andy Warhol and Jean Michel Basquiat).
