Hong Kong-born American singer Coco Lee [/b]passed away at the age of 48 on Wednesday. The tragic news comes after she had attempted suicide, resulting in a coma. Her sisters, Carol and Nancy Lee, shared a statement on Instagram and Facebook, confirming her death. Lee breathed her last at Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong, where she resided.
In their statement, Lee's sisters expressed their grief and revealed that Coco had sought professional help and battled depression. However, the internal struggles proved overwhelming. On July 2, she tragically took her own life at home and was rushed to the hospital. Despite the medical team's efforts, she remained in a coma and eventually passed away on July 5, 2023.
Coco Lee enjoyed a successful career spanning around 30 years. She achieved recognition for her Mandarin-language rendition of the female warrior Mulan in Disney's "Mulan" and her performance of the Oscar-nominated song "A Love Before Time" from the film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Born in Hong Kong in 1975, she was the youngest of three children born to a Cantonese mother from Hong Kong and a father from Malaysia.
Lee's popularity soared in China and Taiwan, particularly in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Her untimely demise has prompted an outpouring of grief in both regions, with widespread news coverage and social media tributes. On China's Weibo microblogging site, a hashtag related to her passing garnered over 200 million readings, highlighting the impact of her music and presence in fans' lives.
Coco Lee faced challenges early in life as her father passed away before her birth, and her mother relocated her and her sisters to San Francisco when she was just 9 years old. After graduating high school in 1992, Lee was offered a recording contract in Hong Kong and decided to put her studies at the University of California, Irvine on hold to pursue her music career. She signed with Sony Music Entertainment in 1996 and released her debut album, "Coco Lee," which became Asia's best-selling album that year.
Her talent and appeal transcended borders, garnering fans in both Asia and the United States. This led to collaborations and the release of English-language songs. Throughout her career, she recorded 18 studio albums and appeared in several films, including "Master of Everything" by Lee Xin and "No Tobacco" by Stanley Kwan.
In 2011, Coco Lee married Bruce Rockowitz, a Canadian businessman and former CEO of the Hong Kong supply chain company Li & Fung. She is survived by her husband, sisters, and two stepdaughters.
See the family’s post on Instagram below: