Vida Chan Lin was born in San Francisco as the middle of five children--all given Spanish names because the family migrated to the U.S. via Chile. Vida began working as a young child in her immigrant parents' Chinese restaurant, but soon the family opened the first Yet Wah, and the Chan family restaurants eventually numbered eleven in the San Francisco area. Vida moved to Las Vegas in 1993 to help her sister and brother-in-law with legal issues.