View CNN’s Fast Facts on Yoko Ono and learn more about the life of the artist, musician and anti-war activist.
Here’s a look at the life of artist, musician and activist Yoko Ono.
Birth date: February 18, 1933
Birth place: Tokyo, Japan
Birth name: Ono Yōko (in Japanese)
Father: Yeisuke Ono, bank executive (also spelled Eisuke)
Mother: Isoko (Yasuda) Ono
Marriages: John Lennon (March 20, 1969-December 8, 1980, his death); Anthony Cox (1962-1969, divorced); Ichiyanagi Toshi (1956-1962, divorced)
Children: with John Lennon: Sean Lennon; with Anthony Cox: Kyoko Cox
Education: Attended Gakushuin University in Tokyo and Sarah Lawrence College in New York
As a child, Ono moved back and forth between Japan and the United States. During World War II, she was in Tokyo during an air raid on the city in March 1945.
She was the first woman ever admitted into the philosophy program at Gakushuin University.
Was a part of the New York avant-garde scene and the Fluxus movement, which was founded by conceptual artist George Maciunas, and included La Monte Young, Diane Wakoski and Walter De Maria.
Ono has repeatedly fought the parole of her husband’s convicted killer Mark David Chapman, out of concern for her personal safety.
Has won two Grammy Awards, one as an artist and producer (1981) and the other as a video producer (2000).
Early 1960s — Ono and La Monte Young stage a series of events in a loft on Chambers Street in Manhattan. Ono’s works are also experienced at Carnegie Recital Hall, Village Gate and various galleries in New York.
1962 — Returns to Japan, and is committed to a mental hospital for clinical depression.
Mid 1960s — Lecturer at Wesleyan College.
1964 — Premieres “Cut Piece,” which involves the audience cutting off pieces of Ono’s clothing until she is naked.
1966 — Premieres “No. 4 (Bottoms),” a short film featuring a series of close-ups of nude buttocks.
November 1966 — Ono meets John Lennon when he visits her art exhibit in London.
October 18, 1968 — Ono and Lennon are arrested in London for possession of cannabis. In court the following month, Lennon admits possession and is fined £150. Ono’s charges are dropped.
November 1968 — Ono and Lennon release the album “Two Virgins,” featuring a controversial nude photo of them on the cover.
