Yoko Ono’s daughter, Kyoko Cox, was involved in a custody battle between Ono and her ex-husband Anthony Cox. Eventually, Kyoko was taken by her father and lived with him under an assumed name for years, out of contact with Ono. They have since reconnected.
Yoko Ono, the avant-garde artist and widow of John Lennon, has one daughter named Kyoko Chan Cox. Kyoko’s life was marked by a tumultuous custody battle after Ono and her second husband, Anthony Cox, divorced in 1969. The battle for Kyoko became intense and bitter, with Cox fearing that Ono’s association with Lennon and the counterculture movement of the 1960s would be a negative influence on their daughter.
In 1971, Cox disappeared with eight-year-old Kyoko, and for the next several years, they lived a life on the run. Cox was involved with a Christian fundamentalist group, and he and Kyoko lived under assumed names to avoid detection; Kyoko was known as Ruth Holman during this time. Ono searched for her daughter for years, but it wasn’t until 1994, after Cox’s fears had subsided and the cultural climate had changed, that Kyoko made contact with Ono.
Kyoko, who was born in 1963, had grown up away from the public eye and the influence of her mother’s fame. She has since maintained a private life, and while she has reconnected with her mother, she has largely stayed out of the spotlight. The relationship between Ono and her daughter has been described as reconciled, and they have been seen together at public events, indicating that despite the years of separation, they have found a way to bridge the gap and maintain a familial bond.