Anchee Min

Anchee Min (; born January 14, 1957) is a Chinese-American author who lives in San Francisco and Shanghai. Min has published two memoirs, Red Azalea and The Cooked Seed: A Memoir, and six historical novels. Her fiction emphasizes strong female characters, such as Jiang Qing, the wife of chairman Mao Zedong, and Empress Dowager Cixi, the last ruling empress of China.

Life Min was born in Shanghai, China, on January 14, 1957. Her parents were both teachers. She was nine years old when the Cultural Revolution began. As a child, she was a member of the Little Red Guards and was made to report her favorite teacher, who was accused of being an anti-Maoist, to the authorities. near the East China Sea, where she endured horrific conditions and worked 18-hour days. She eventually won the lead role in a propaganda film inspired by Madame Mao.

After moving to the US, Min worked five jobs at the same time and learned English by, among others, watching Sesame Street.

Min is openly bisexual. Her first husband was a Chinese artist named Qigu Jiang. They had a daughter, Lauryann, who attended Stanford University. According to Min herself, she "lured [Qigu] into marriage, making herself pregnant by him although she knew he did not want a child" and subsequently their marriage fell apart. She filed for divorce in 2014, and it was finalized in 2015.

Min graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a B.F.A. and M.F.A. in Fine Arts.