chen was born in panama to josé and luisa chen. he is of chinese descent. his paternal grandfather, kuen chin chan lee, joined his brothers and other relatives in panama at age nine during the chinese civil war. chen's maternal grandmother, kuen yin liu de laffo, was born in panama, but her family had to return to china after fire destroyed their home. after years of hard labor, she returned to panama at age 24. both of chen's grandparents have died. in a 2006 article in "the washington post", chen said that he would like to visit china to better understand his roots.