Maya Ying Lin

Maya Lin
Lin at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington (2007)
Born	Maya Lin (1959-10-05) October 5, 1959 (age 57) Athens, Ohio, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	Yale University
Known for	art, architecture, memorials
Notable work	Vietnam Veterans Memorial (1982) Civil Rights Memorial (1989)
Spouse(s)	Daniel Wolf
Awards	National Medal of Arts Presidential Medal of Freedom
Website	www.mayalin.com

National Medal of Arts

Maya Ying Lin (born October 5, 1959) is an American designer and artist who is known for her work in sculpture and land art. She achieved national recognition at the age of 21 while still an undergraduate at Yale University when her design was chosen in a national competition for the the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. It is considered one of the most influential memorials of the post-World War II period. Lin has completed designs for other memorials, as well as for numerous public and private buildings, landscape design, and sculpture.

Maya Lin was born in Athens, Ohio. Her parents had migrated to the United States from China, her father in 1948 and her mother in 1949, and settled in Ohio before Maya was born. Her father, Henry Huan Lin, born in Fuzhou, Fujian, was a ceramist and former dean of the Ohio University College of Fine Arts. Her mother, Julia Chang Lin, born in Shanghai, is a poet and taught literature at Ohio University. She is the niece of Lin Huiyin, who is said to be the first female architect in China.Lin Juemin and Lin Yin Ming, both of whom are among the 72 martyrs of the Second Guangzhou Uprising, were cousins of her grandfather. Lin Chang-min, a Hanlin of Qing dynasty and the emperor's teacher, was the father of Lin Hui-yin and great-grandfather of Maya Lin.

Lin graduated from Yale University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1981 and a Master of Architecture degree in 1986.

Lin is married to Daniel Wolf, a New York photography dealer. They have two daughters, India and Rachel.

Lin is the youngest of her generation, and has an older brother, the poet Tan Lin. Growing up, she did not have many friends and stayed home a lot. She loved school and loved to study. When she was not studying, she took independent courses from Ohio University and spent her free time casting bronzes in the school foundry. Lin, having grown up as an Asian minority, has said that she "didn't even realize" she was Chinese until later in life. It was not until her 30s that she had a desire to understand her cultural background. Commenting on her design of a new building for the Museum of Chinese in America near New York City's Chinatown, Lin attached a personal significance to the project being a Chinese-related project. She wants her two daughters to "know that part of their heritage".