He was sent to a British boarding school when he was 12 and spent his adolescence in Europe after arriving in London in 1952, he was never able to speak to nor see his father again. His mother came from a wealthy family whose fortune had been made in tea. His sister is actress and erstwhile Bond girl Tsai Chin. His father was Zhou Xinfang, one of China's most famous actors of his time and the leading figure at the Peking Opera. Chow was born in Shanghai as Zhou Yinghua.
