dorothy toy was born on may 28, 1917 in san francisco to yataro and kiyo (née sayama) takahashi. she had a sister, helen. after marrying les fong in 1952, her married name was dorothy toy fong — they would later divorce. following her dance career, toy worked as a pharmaceutical technician and a dance instructor. she turned 100 in may 2017, and died on july 10, 2019 at the age of 102 at her home in oakland, california. she had two children, peter and dorlie.