12 Facts About Tina Chow

Tina Chow was the second wife of restaurateur Michael Chow, the founder and owner of the Mr Chow restaurant chain.

Tina Chow's mother, Mona Furuki, was Japanese, while her father, Walter Edmund Lutz, was an American of German descent.

Tina Chow was drawn by illustrator Antonio Lopez and painted by Andy Warhol.

Tina Chow was the muse of designers Yves St Laurent and Issey Miyake.

Tina Chow was cited by fashion magazines for her unique style and her collection of Mariano Fortuny dresses.

Tina Chow routinely paired inexpensive items with high fashion pieces and mixed feminine and masculine styles simultaneously.

Tina Chow was noted for her androgynous Eton crop hairstyle which she had cut at a New York barbershop and styled with Dippity Do.

In 1973, Tina married Michael Chow, who owns the Mr Chow restaurant chain.

Tina Chow became an AIDS activist after having lost many friends to the disease.

Tina Chow had contracted HIV in late 1985 through an affair with French aristocrat Kim d'Estainville, who died of AIDS in January 1990.

Tina Chow made her diagnosis public in an effort to educate others and continued working as an AIDS activist and with AIDS charities, including Project Angel Food.

Tina Chow moved to California, where she chose to treat her illness with meditation and a macrobiotic diet.