CoCo Lee dies; SF-raised musician was first Chinese singer to break into American market

By Zen Soo | Associated Press

HONG KONG — Coco Lee, a Hong Kong-born singer and songwriter who had a highly successful career in Asia, has died by suicide, her siblings said Wednesday. She was 48.

The star had been suffering from depression for several years, Lee’s elder sisters Carol and Nancy Lee said in a statement posted on Facebook and Instagram, with her condition deteriorating drastically over the last few months.

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

Lee attempted suicide at home over the weekend and she was rushed to a hospital, her sister said. They said that she was in a coma and died on Wednesday.

Born Ferren Lee in Hong Kong, Lee later moved to the U.S. where she attended middle and high school in San Francisco. She became a singer after winning first runner up in an annual singing competition held by broadcaster TVB in Hong Kong, and released her first album in 1994 at the age of 19.

Though Lee initially started off as a Mandopop singer, she later branched out to release albums in Cantonese and English over her nearly 30-year career. She was best known for her powerful voice and live performances.

“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,” her sisters said in their post. “We are proud of her!”

She also was the first Chinese singer to break into the American market, and her English song “Do You Want My Love” charted at #4 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Breakouts chart in December 1999.

Lee 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 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.

In Lee’s most recent Instagram post, dated Dec. 31, 2022, she shared several pictures of herself, including tattoos of the words “love” and “faith” as well as a picture of what appears to be a drainage bag taped to her body.

“Love & Faith — my two favorite words that I carry strongly in my heart which I desperately needed to get through this incredibly difficult year,” she wrote in the caption.

“Life seemed unbearable at times but I adapted the attitude of a ‘female warrior’ to face them head on fearlessly,” the caption read.

In March, she posted about having to relearn how to walk after undergoing surgery for an old leg injury that was triggered after going overboard during a dance practice in Oct. 2022.

“Successful surgery. Even though I’m in a lot of pain and I have to re-learn how to walk again, I know I can do it,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “Yes I can and I will!”

Mandopop singer-songwriter Wang Leehom paid tribute to Lee in an Instagram post, describing her as the “biggest star” whom everyone wanted to work with.