Yoko Ono’s journey as an artist and activist is well known, same with her decades-long search for her daughter. The new documentary One to One: John & Yoko sheds light on this emotional ordeal, it offers a closer look at Ono and John Lennon’s early years in New York City. While the film explores their political activism and battles with the U.S. government, it also talks about the heartbreaking abduction that led them to America in the first place.
Before Ono married John Lennon, she had Kyoko with her second husband, Anthony Cox. The couple’s split seemed amicable at first, but a bitter custody battle soon unfolded. In 1971, Cox disappeared with Kyoko and took her into hiding. For the next two decades, Ono fought and spent a fortune to find her daughter.
Yoko Ono’s missing daughter was with her ex-husband, Tony Cox
Yoko Ono and Anthony Cox got married in 1963. Shortly after their marriage, they welcomed their daughter, Kyoko. However, as Ono’s artistic career took off, their relationship changed, and it eventually led to divorce. Initially, they maintained a cordial co-parenting arrangement, even spending holidays together. However, tensions grew after Ono married Lennon, and Cox became increasingly paranoid about Kyoko’s well-being. Especially after Lennon crashed his Austin Maxi into a ditch when taking Ono, Kyoko and his own son Julian on a summer trip to Scotland.
They pursued legal action in multiple states, and the courts granted Ono custody under the condition that Kyoko be raised in the U.S. However, Cox refused to comply and was jailed for contempt of court. In 1971, Cox violated a court order and fled with Kyoko. He moved between different locations and eventually joined a religious sect in the United States. Lennon and Ono desperately tried to locate them. They hired private investigators, placed ads in newspapers, and pursued legal avenues in multiple states. Reports suggest they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in their search, even offering rewards for information. But they came up with nothing.
In 1972, Ono wrote a public letter in major newspapers, addressing Tony directly. In it, she pleaded with Cox not to let Kyoko grow up believing her mother abandoned her. Despite these efforts, Cox and Kyoko were not found, and they kept moving frequently to avoid detection. Their last known location in the early ’70s was in Texas, where Tony became deeply involved with a religious group.
Yoko Ono reconciled with her daughter 23 years later
For over 20 years, Kyoko lived under an assumed name, isolated from her mother. Cox raised her within the confines of The Church of the Living Word. His involvement in the church was intense, and he eventually became disillusioned with its strict practices. Over time, he left the group, but his wife, Melinda, didn’t leave with him. Cox returned to the public’s eyes with his self-produced documentary called VainGlory, despite the fact that there was no reconciliation between mother and daughter. Ono had to pen another emotional letter to her daughter.
Eight years later, their long-awaited reunion finally came in 1994 when Kyoko, now an adult with a family of her own, reached out to Ono. However, Lennon never saw Kyoko before his death. The mother and daughter connected and gradually built a strong relationship.