Hong Kong singer and songwriter Coco Lee dies by suicide

Coco Lee, a Hong Kong-born singer and songwriter who had a highly successful career in Asia, 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.

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

Born Ferren Lee in Hong Kong, Lee later moved to the US 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 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 October 2022.

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.

In the music industry, Coco Lee broke down international barriers, before any other Chinese singer did, he wrote. Let's always remember her, as a brave pioneer, and an important musical legend.

Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai posted a message on Facebook that read R.I.P., your bright smile will always be remembered.