Toy was born in San Francisco, California. She was the first of eight children born to parents who immigrated from
Canton, China. Toy's parents opened a laundry in
Inverness, California, where they were the only Chinese residents. Toy, who was then nicknamed "Emma", was living in 1930 with her parents (Hom Gin "Gin"; Mah "Marion" Shee) and five of her ultimately seven siblings in Point Reyes Station, Marin, California, USA She performed her routines at the
Stork Club and other venues in
New York City, before returning to San Francisco, where she was most famous at the
Forbidden City nightclub. In her later years, Toy had many small parts in films and television, including a role in
Big Trouble in Little China and frequent portrayals of Korean villagers in
M*A*S*H. Nevertheless, they obtained a marriage license on 19 December 1945 in Manhattan; and married the next day on December 20, 1945, in New York City. They remained married until her husband's death in 1994. They had no children. ==Filmography==