Coco Lee Age, Death, Husband, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Coco Lee

• Coco Lee was a Hong Kong-born American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actress, who made history as the first Asian artist to perform at the Oscars, and she also became the first Chinese brand ambassador for the prestigious luxury brand Chanel. In July 2023, she attempted suicide and died at the age of 48.

• She was the first Mandopop artist to make her way into the American music industry.

• When she was nine years old, she moved with her family from Hong Kong to San Francisco.

• Coco’s father belonged to a Malaysian family, and her mother belonged to a Hong Kong Cantonese family. Her father died before she was born. ^[3]CBC

• As a child, she would sing at home. Her sister, Nancy, and mother, impressed by her singing, encouraged her to consider it as a career.
  

  Coco Lee at the age of 12 with her elder sisters

• During her middle school years, she participated in the Miss Junior Chinatown competition and won the crown. She was also selected as the class president during her high school days.

• Before venturing into singing, she wanted to become a doctor.

• In 1992, she took part in the 12th Annual New Talent Search competition and performed Whitney Houston’s song ‘Run to You,’ securing the first runner-up position in the competition. The following day, Capital Artists, a record label based in Hong Kong, approached her and offered her to sign a recording contract.

• While attending university, she attempted to juggle her singing career with her studies. However, after completing her freshman year, she made the decision to drop out of college to fully dedicate herself to her singing career.

• In November 1994, she featured in a Cantonese compilation album called ‘Statement of Love, Duet Songs.’ In 1997, she released a full studio album in Cantonese titled ‘Be Careful Next Time.’

• In 1996, she signed a record deal with Sony Music Entertainment and unveiled her Mandarin album ‘CoCo Lee’ on 14 June 1996. This album went on to become the top-selling album in Asia for the year 1996.

• In 1998, she released her Mandarin album ‘Di Da Di,’ which sold approximately one million copies within just three months of its release.
  

  Poster of the 1998 album ‘Di Da Di’ by Coco Lee

• In March 2005, she released her second English album under Sony BMG titled ‘Exposed,’ which was banned in Mainland China for allegedly having sexy lyrics in some of the songs.

• The song ‘Colors’ from her 1998 Mandarin album ‘Sunny Day’ was chosen as the opening song for the Football World Cup, and the song ‘The Answer’ from the same album was featured in the Hong Kong Cantonese-language romantic drama film ‘Bishonen.’

• In 1998, Walt Disney Pictures offered her to sing the theme song ‘Reflection’ and voice the lead character Fa Mulan in the Mandarin version of the animated film Mulan.

• In August 1998, she held a concert in Taiwan, which was attended by over 50 thousand fans. This concert marked a significant milestone as it became the largest concert in Taiwan with such a massive audience since Michael Jackson‘s concert.
  

  Coco Lee with Michael Jackson

• In 1999, she performed at Michael Jackson’s charity concert ‘Michael Jackson & Friends’ held in Seoul.

• In 1999, her song ‘Before I Fall in Love’ was featured on the soundtrack of the Hollywood film ‘Runaway Bride’ starring Julia Roberts.

• She collaborated with many musicians including Wang Leehom, Stefanie Sun, and Elva Hsiao and released two charity songs titled ‘We Meet the Future’ and ‘Hand in Hand’ to help patients of SARS disease.

• In 2001, she recorded the song ‘A Love Before Time’ for the Chinese martial arts film ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.’ Her notable performance of this song at the 73rd Academy Awards made her the first Chinese-American artist to achieve such an honour.
  

  Coco Lee performing at the Oscars in 2001

• She had recorded a song against tobacco consumption titled ‘From the Beginning ’til the End’ featuring the Hong Kong singer Jacky Cheung.

• In 2003, she recorded an anti-racism song with Park Jin-young, a South Korean singer, titled ‘A Dream of One.’

• In 2003, she presented and performed with the Jamaican singer Shaggy at the MTV Asia Awards held in Singapore.

• In 2004, as the Youth AIDS ambassador, she travelled to Bangkok to attend the global AIDS conference. During the event, she represented Asian artists and actively engaged with various youth groups to discuss how she could educate them about AIDS and its prevention.

• She appeared as Tang Luhua in the 2004 Chinese comedy film ‘Master Of Everything.’
  

  Poster of the 2004 film ‘Master Of Everything’

• In 2008, she performed the song ‘Forever Friends’ alongside Sun Nan at the Olympics.

• In 2010, she released the song ‘BYOB’ (Bring Your Own Bag) for promoting the reusing and recycling of shopping bags to help preserve the environment.

• In 2010, she recorded a song titled ‘Smile Shanghai’ featuring various Asian musicians for the Shanghai World Expo 2010.

• In 2011, Coco Lee and Bruce Rockowitz had a star-studded Jewish wedding ceremony. Many famous international artists such as  Bruno Mars, Alicia Keys, and Ne-Yo performed at her wedding.
  

  Alicia Keys singing at Coco and Bruce’s wedding

• To celebrate her wedding, she released both the English and Chinese versions of the song ‘I Just Wanna Marry You’ on 11 October 2011.

• On 17 December 2011, she gave a performance at the ‘Booey Lehoo Concert’ held in Beijing. During the concert, she performed alongside renowned artists such as will.i.am and apl.de.ap from the American band ‘The Black Eyed Peas,’ John Legend, and Shunza.
  

  Coco Lee performing with the members of the band ‘The Black Eyed Peas’

• On 9 February 2012, she gave a performance at the ‘I AM WILL/I AM ANGEL Benefit Concert’ held at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. During the event, she shared the stage with will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo from The Black Eyed Peas.

• In 2015, she worked in the Chinese coming-of-age film ‘Forever Young’ in which she was featured in a cameo role as Teacher Han.

• She has judged many Chinese reality TV shows such as ‘Chinese Idol’ (2013), ‘Dancing With the Stars China’ (2015), ‘Super Idol’ (2015), and ‘World’s Got Talent’ (2019).

• There were many famous musicians who inspired her and with whom she desired to collaborate with include Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Lady Gaga.

• In 2016, she performed, alongside famous American artists Usher and Charlie XCX, at the first ‘Fashion Rocks’ event in Asia held in Shanghai.
  

  Coco Lee with Usher (left to Coco) and Charlie XCX (right to Coco) at Fashion Rocks

• She did brand promotions for various luxury beauty and clothing brands including Estée Lauder, Ralph Lauren, Max Mara, and La Mer.

• She was appointed as the spokesperson for the Pink Revolution campaign by the Cancer Fund, a cancer charity organization based in Hong Kong.
  

  Coco Lee at an event of Cancer Fund’s Pink Revolution

• In February 2016, she shared that she lost her voice due to acute bronchitis and suffered severe throat conditions. ^[4]Global Times

• In 2016, she was featured on the cover of #legend magazine.
  

  Coco Lee on the cover of #Legend magazine

• She had a keen interest in fashion and enjoyed reading fashion magazines and watching fashion shows to stay updated with the latest trends in the fashion industry.

• In 2019, she appeared on the cover of Chic magazine.

• She was a fitness enthusiast and often shared her fitness routine on social media.

• Being an animal lover, she was the owner of a rabbit, Machi, and a dog, Bruce.
  

  Coco Lee with her dog Bruce

• In January 2023, Coco Lee went through a major leg surgery. ^[5]The Sun

• On 2 July 2023, she committed suicide at her house and fell into a coma. Later, she was taken to Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong, where she died in a coma at the age of 48 on 5 July 2023. In an interview, her sisters mentioned that Coco had been dealing with depression for some time, and she even sought help from professionals to overcome it; however, she couldn’t find a way out. ^[6]CBC

• According to sources, she faced some problems in her marital life which led to the development of depression. ^[7]Global Times