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Who is Kyoko Chan Cox?
Most people know all about Yoko Ono, a Japanese multi-media artist, singer-songwriter, and peace activist, who was married to the famous John Lennon, and was blamed for the break-up of The Beatles. It’s also known that Yoko and John have one son together, namely Sean, but did you know that Yoko has a daughter?
If you ever wanted to know more about her daughter, let us introduce you to Kyoko Chan Cox, a Japanese actress, known for her roles in movies “No.4”, “Bed Peace”, and “3 Days in the Life”, who came into the limelight after it was discovered that she is Yoko Ono’s long-lost daughter.
https://www.instagram.com/p/cwzdENMTYy/?hl=en
However, let’s start from the beginning. Kyoko Chan Cox was born under the zodiac sign of Leo on 8 August 1963, in Tokyo, Japan, from her mother’s marriage to Anthony ‘Tony’ Cox, an American film producer and art promoter, who worked as a conceptual artist in Tokyo, where he met Yoko Ono in 1961.
The two married on 28 November 1962, however, their marriage was annulled on 1 March 1963, since Yoko’s divorce from her first husband hadn’t been finalized, and thus they remarried on 11 June 1963. Soon after their daughter was born; they both continued with their art works, and moved to New York City, USA – mostly Anthony took care of Kyoko.
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In 1966, Yoko traveled to London, UK to meet the artist and political activist Gustav Metzger, however, there she met her future husband, John Lennon. Subsequently, Yoko divorced Anthony on 2 February 1969, and during a custody battle sometime in 1971, Anthony disappeared with Kyoko, who was then aged eight, and later won custody of her after successfully claiming that Yoko was an unfit mother due to her drug use.
During the custody battle, Anthony met his future wife, Melinda Kendall, who was a member of a religious group known as ‘The Walk’ (Church of the Living World), and he and Kyoko joined this group and lived in rural Iowa and California.
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What happened with her?
After he won custody, in 1971, Anthony changed Kyoko’s name to ‘Ruth Holman’ and raised her in an organization whose members they became, where they stayed until 1978 when they joined the Jesus People USA commune in Chicago.
Before he and Kyoko left the group, he divorced Melinda Kendall, but all those years, Kyoko had no contact with her mother, until 1980, when they sent a telegram of sympathy to Yoko after John Lennon’s murder, but still didn’t specify their location.
Reunion with her mother
During her marriage to John Lennon, both he and Yoko tried to find out where her daughter was, and she even wrote an open letter, saying: ‘All these years there has not been one day I have not missed you.
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You are always in my heart. However, I will not make any attempt to find you now, as I wish to respect your privacy.’
Adding that she wishes her all the best in the world, and if she ever wants to get in touch with her, she would be very happy to hear from her, also saying that Kyoko should not feel guilty if she chooses not to reach Yoko, and that she will always have her respect, love, and support.
Some woman tried to trick her, and telephoned her saying that she was Kyoko, but when they met, the girl had blonde hair and blue eyes, which was far away from Kyoko’s look, who has black hair and brown eyes.
Finally, in 1998, Kyoko made contact with Yoko, and the two were reunited. After their first phone call, Yoko told a friend that when she heard her voice, she immediately knew that it was her daughter, and when Kyoko called again and asked her mother to move in with her, Yoko was thrilled.
Kyoko met her half-brother, Sean, for the first time when he was 24, and it seems that they are on very good terms, but her step-brother Julian, from John’s marriage with Cynthia Lennon, didn’t contact her, although they spent some time together while they were children, back in 1969.
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Kyoko Chan Cox’s net worth
Currently, Kyoko lives a quiet and private life away from the media’s attention, and the family friend, Eric Pement, stated that she’s a teacher, and that she has a daughter named Emi, but that he can’t confirm if she still lives in New York, or if she moved.
Speaking of her father, Anthony Cox, he was seen living in his car, leading a nomadic lifestyle, and according to Chris Lopez from Colorado, he bought old tapes and ‘phone messages of John Lennon singing and talking, which Yoko gave Anthony so he could make some money.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXdtOl06RX0
At the time of his death, John Lennon’s net worth was estimated at $800 million, and according to sources, Yoko inherited around $200 million. In 2017, their son Sean took control of John Lennon’s estate, and is appointed the director at eight companies related to Yoko Ono and The Beatles.
John Lennon’s first wife, Cynthia, was left out of his will, while Julian, her and John Lennon’s son inherited a little over $65,000 and a $100 weekly royalty payment from John’s estate; he later fought for a further share, and reportedly in 1996, he won around $27 million, however, Julian hasn’t confirmed this.
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Since Kyoko isn’t John Lennon’s biological child, and he didn’t legally adopt her, she didn’t inherit anything after his death, however, when she contacted her mother Yoko, some rumors were saying that Yoko gave her an apartment in New York City, where she and John used to live, however, these assumptions haven’t been confirmed.
According to sources, Kyoko’s net worth can’t be estimated since she prefers to keep her personal matters away from the public eye, however, it’s known that the average teacher’s salary in the USA is about $65,000 per year.
On the other side, as the daughter of Yoko Ono, she might be one of the inheritors of her wealth, which as of June 2022, has been estimated at over $700 million, including royalties from John Lennon’s music with The Beatles and his solo career.
