Anna Manwah Lo was born in North Point, British Hong Kong, to Hongkonger parents on 16 June 1950.

[7][8][9][10] Her parents were born in Mainland China and had moved to British Hong Kong in 1948, one year before the Chinese Civil War had ended.

[3] Lo later graduated from Ulster University, becoming the first trained social worker of ethnic minority background in Northern Ireland.

[21] Lo was the target of racial abuse by Ulster loyalists[22][23] and did not stand for re-election as MLA in 2016 as a result.

[26] She expressed her outrage at First Minister Peter Robinson's defence of Pastor James McConnell, who was accused of making Islamophobic remarks.

[31] Lo's autobiography, The Place I Call Home: From Hong Kong to Belfast - My Story, was published by the Blackstaff Press in October 2016.

She helped launch Northern Ireland Humanists at an event in Stormont in 2016 and supported many of the charity's campaigns, including on abortion rights.

[38][39] In a statement, Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said "Anna will forever be remembered as a ground-breaker in local politics.