Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee was born on a cold winter morning in 1970 in a tiny hospital on the outskirts of Seoul. She and her family immigrated to the United States in the late 70s, wearing bell bottoms with a funkadelic soundtrack playing in the background. She learned English in Pennsylvania but spent most of her formidable years in the various communities of Los Angeles. She's worked since she was 9 years old, pumping gas at her dad's gas station, slinging pizzas at the family pizza joint, and running the cash register at her parents' Mexican market. A lover of food, travel and images, she decided against a career in medicine to pursue writing and the arts. When she's not exploring the wonders of the world, she's pulling weeds in her vegetable garden in the City of Angels.