Joyce Chen was born in Beijing, the youngest of nine children of a high-ranking Qing Dynasty official, during the Republican era under Sun Yat-sen. Her wealthy father, a railroad administrator and city executive, could afford to hire a family cook. In her book, "Joyce Chen Cook Book", she later said that she grew up with a family chef who left to cook for her father's friend, "Uncle Li", who became the Chinese ambassador to Russia. At that point, her mother and her governess cooked the family meals, and Joyce Chen watched and she learned.