Zensu, Associated Press
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FILE – Coco Lee performing “A Love Before Time” at the 73rd Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 25, 2001. Coco Lee, a Hong Kong-born singer who achieved great success in Asia, passed away on Wednesday, July 5, 2023. she was 48 years old. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)
HONG KONG (AP) – Coco Lee, a Hong Kong-born singer-songwriter who had great success in Asia, died by suicide, her brother announced Wednesday. she was 48 years old.
Lee’s older sisters, Carol Lee and Nancy Lee, said in statements posted on Facebook and Instagram that Lee had been suffering from depression for several years and had significantly worsened in recent months. rice field.
“Coco sought professional help and did her best to fight her depression, but sadly, her inner demons plagued her,” the statement read.
Lee’s sister said he attempted suicide at home over the weekend and was rushed to hospital. She was in a coma and died on Wednesday, they said.
Born Feren Lee in Hong Kong, Lee later emigrated to the United States and attended middle school and high school in San Francisco. She became a singer after winning the second prize in a singing contest held annually by TVB, a Hong Kong broadcaster, and released her first album in 1994 when she was 19 years old.
Lee started out as a Mando pop singer, but has since gone on to release Cantonese and English albums in a career spanning nearly 30 years. She was best known for her powerful voice and live performances.
“CoCo is known to have worked tirelessly to open up a new world for Chinese singers in the international music scene, and has done everything in her power to shine for the Chinese people,” the sisters said. mentioned in the post. “We are proud of her!”
She was also the first Chinese singer to enter the American market, with her English song “Do You Want My Love” reaching #4 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Breakout chart in December 1999. .
Lee voiced the heroine Hua Mulan in the Chinese version of the Disney movie Mulan, and also sang the Chinese version of the movie’s theme song, “Reflection.”
In 2011, Lee married Canadian businessman Bruce Rockowitz, former CEO of Hong Kong supply chain company Lee & Fong. Although she had two stepdaughters in her marriage to Lokowitz, her Lee had no children of her own.
Lee’s most recent Instagram post (dated December 31, 2022) features tattoos of the words “love” and “faith,” as well as photos that look like a drainage bag taped to her body. I shared some photos. .
“Love and Faith – two of my favorite words that have stuck in my heart that I desperately needed to get through this incredibly difficult year,” she wrote in the caption.
The caption reads, “Sometimes life can seem overwhelming, but I’ve adopted a ‘female warrior’ attitude to face it head-on without fear.”
In March, she posted about having to relearn how to walk after undergoing surgery for an old leg injury that she over-injured during dance practice in October 2022.
“Surgery was successful. It will be very painful and I will have to learn to walk again but I know I can do it,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “Yes, I can and I will!”
Mandopop singer-songwriter Wang Lihong paid tribute to Lee in an Instagram post, describing her as “the biggest star” everyone wants to work with.
“In the music industry, Coco Li broke international barriers before any other Chinese singer,” he wrote. “Let us always remember her, her intrepid trailblazer and her important musical legend.”
Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai posted a message on Facebook saying, “Rest in peace, your bright smile will always be remembered.”
