Grace Ho
何愛瑜
Ho circa 1940
Born
Bai Rong

1907 (1907) (bef. 24 June)
Shanghai, China
Died(1996-06-24)June 24, 1996 (aged 89)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other namesHe Aiyu, He Bairong
SpouseLee Hoi-chuen (李海泉)
Children5, including Peter, Bruce, and Robert Lee
Relatives
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese何愛瑜
Simplified Chinese何爱瑜

Grace Ho (Chinese: 何愛瑜; 1907 – 24 June 1996)[1] was the mother of Bruce Lee. She and her husband Lee Hoi-chuen were the parents of Bruce as well as Peter Lee, Robert Lee, Phoebe Lee, and Agnes Lee.

Biography

Grace Ho was born in 1907 in Shanghai to Cheung King-sin (張瓊仙), a mixed-race Eurasian[2] woman who was a mistress of Ho Kom-tong (何甘棠), a prominent businessman who had 12 wives and reportedly more than 30 children.[1] Ho Kom-tong was the younger, maternal half-brother of Hong Kong businessman and philanthropist Robert Hotung. Ho eventually adopted Grace.[1][3]

The ethnicity of Grace Ho's parents is somewhat uncertain. The most popular assertion is that Grace Ho's father was German and her mother was Chinese, as attested by autobiographers Robert Clouse, Bruce Thomas, and Linda Lee Caldwell.[4][5] It is also stated that Grace Ho's father was raised as the son of a Dutch Jew, Charles Maurice Bosman, and his Chinese concubine. However, according to Russo, there are doubts about whether Charles Bosman was the actual father of Ho Kom-tong.[6] Charles Russo has questioned this origin story entirely, suggesting that Grace Ho's father might have been Chinese or mixed-Chinese, and that her mother was English.[5] Matthew Polly concedes that Grace Ho's paternal grandfather was a Dutch Jew, but likewise asserts that her mother was English.[7] However, according to Doug Palmer, the claim that Grace Ho had an English mother is only speculation. Palmer also notes that family records suggest that the Dutch-Jewish Bosman family had originated from Germany, which may explain why it was assumed that Grace had German origins.[8]

Grace spent part of her childhood in Hong Kong, living at the Ho Tung Gardens in the Peak under the care of Clara Ho Tung, her aunt.[5] Grace later fell in love with her husband-to-be Lee Hoi-chuen (李海泉) from her admiration of his stage art.[5] Grace traveled with Lee in San Francisco on his one-year US tour with the Mandarin Theatre in 1939.[1] Grace reported to the US government in 1939 that her mother was English; when Grace returned to Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, she reported that her mother was German because Germany was an ally of Japan at that time.[1][5] During this tour, Grace gave birth to her fourth child Bruce Lee; Lee Hoi-chuen was performing in New York City at the time of Bruce's birth.[5] Grace's family would all return to Hong Kong in the spring of 1941 only to be stuck there during the Japanese occupation from 1941 to 1945.[5]

Grace's three sons would go on to be very successful. Peter Lee, Grace's oldest son, excelled in fencing[9] and meteorology, becoming assistant director of the Hong Kong Observatory. Bruce Lee would become famous in Hollywood and Hong Kong for his films and skill in martial arts,[10] and Robert Lee would become a popular Hong Kong and Macau musician founding the band called the Thunderbirds.[11]

Depictions in media

Unlike most of her children, Grace was hardly ever seen in the media or on television.[12] Her only appearance on television was with her son Robert in an interview on Good Night America with Geraldo Rivera, shortly after Bruce's death.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Feng, Ying-biao 馮應標 (27 November 2020). "李小龍的洋血統" [Bruce Lee's Foreign Blood]. Master-Insight (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  2. ^ Polly, Matthew (4 June 2019). Bruce Lee: A Life. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-5011-8763-6. p.14: "In the household he maintained in Shanghai for business, Ho Kom Tong kept his thirteenth concubine, a Eurasian lady named Ms. Cheung" p.507: "Bruce Thomas concurred, “Grace was the daughter of a Chinese mother and German father.” (Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit, p. 3.) Linda Lee wrote, “Grace Lee was half German and a Catholic."
  3. ^ "The Life of Ho Kom-Tong and Kom Tong Hall" (PDF). Hong Kong Museum of History. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  4. ^ Polly 2019, p. 13, 507.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Russo, Charles. "Was Bruce Lee of English descent? Just ask his mother". Vice. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  6. ^ Palmer, Doug (21 September 2020). Bruce Lee: Sifu, Friend and Big Brother. Chin Music Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-63405-982-4.
  7. ^ Polly 2019, p. 507.
  8. ^ Palmer, Doug (21 September 2020). Bruce Lee: Sifu, Friend and Big Brother. Chin Music Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-63405-982-4. "Matthew Polly asserts that her father was indeed half Chinese and half Dutch-Jewish, and that her mother was 100% English. See pp. 13-14 and chapter notes thereto. But from the notes, it is clear that he is speculating. His notes also mention that the Dutch-Jewish Bosman family could be traced to Germany segeral generations before, which could explain the origin of the claim that Grace was part German."
  9. ^ "History". Hong Kong Fencing Association History. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  10. ^ Stein, Joel (14 June 1999). "Bruce Lee: With nothing but his hands, feet and a lot of attitude, he turned the little guy into a tough guy". Time. The Time 100. New York. Archived from the original on 5 June 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  11. ^ Rubinstein, teve (30 March 2009). "In The Shadow Of A Legend – Robert Lee Remembers Bruce Lee". Archived from the original on 30 March 2009.
  12. ^ Balkovich, Robert. "The Truth About Bruce Lee's Parents". grunge.com. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Geraldo Rivera Interviews Bruce Lee's Mother in Her Only Live Tv Interview". wingchunnews.ca. Retrieved 25 April 2022.

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