Hong Kong pop star Coco Lee dies aged 48

5 July, 2023

Coco Lee arrives at the red carpet for the opening ceremony of the 3rd Hainan Island International Film Festival at Haitang Square on December 5, 2020. Credit: VCG/VCG via Getty

Hong Kong-born singer-songwriter Coco Lee, who had a highly successful career in Asia, has died by suicide at the age of 48.

In a post on Lee’s official Facebook page, her two elder sisters Carol and Nancy Lee shared that the singer had been battling depression for several years. “CoCo had been suffering from depression for a few years but her condition deteriorated drastically over the last few months,” the statement read.

It continued: “Although CoCo sought professional help and did her best to fight depression, sadly that demon inside of her took the better of her.”

The sisters shared that Lee attempted to take her life at home over the weekend and was rushed to a hospital. They said that she was in a coma and passed on Wednesday, July 5.

Lee, who was educated in both Hong Kong and the US, gained success in the 90s within the Mandopop (Mandarin-language pop) scene in Hong Kong before expanding into Cantonese and English.

“Coco is also known to have worked tirelessly to open up a new world for Chinese singers in the international music scene, and she went all out to shine for the Chinese. We are proud of her,” added the statement.

She was the voice of heroine Fa Mulan in the Mandarin version of Disney’s Mulan, and also sang the Mandarin version of the movie’s theme song ‘Reflection’.

In 2001 Lee performed ‘A Love Before Time’ from Ang Lee’s film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon at the Oscars. The Chinese version of that track earned her the award award for best original film song at the 2001 Hong Kong Film Awards.

In her 30-year musical career, Lee recorded 18 studio albums, two live albums and five compilation albums. She also appeared in the films No Tobacco by Stanley Kwan, Lee Xin’s Master of Everything and 2015’s Forever Young.

Coco Lee attends the launch event of smartphone app Line Music on July 10, 2019 in Taipei, Taiwan of China. Credit: Visual China Group via Getty

She frequently appeared on Chinese TV shows such as the 2013 version of Chinese Idol and the 2015 version of Dancing with the Stars as a Judge or advisor.

In 2011, Lee married Bruce Rockowitz, a Canadian businessman who is the former CEO of Hong Kong supply chain company Li & Fung. While she had two stepdaughters from her marriage with Rockowitz, Lee didn’t have children of her own.