Elizabeth Braddock or Psylocke was born in England. She is a precog and later telepath and the sister of Brian Braddock or Captain Britain. 

In Marvel UK's Daredevils #3 (March 1983), she works for the government organization S.T.R.I.K.E. and dyes her hair purple. She is soon moved over to the X-Men and the signature hair color goes with her. When she joins the X-Men, she adopts the name Psylocke. 

At some point, Psylocke ends up in the body of an Asian woman and learns martial arts. There are a number of canonical explanations for how this happened, but the Asian Pyslocke is the one most fans are familiar with. 

Psylocke is openly bi and has had relationships with both men and women. She had a long relationship with Archangel and later had a relationship with Cluster (a woman).