On July 5, actress and singer Coco Lee passed away at the age of 48. She had been in a coma following a suicide attempt on Sunday.
The tragic death was announced by Lee’s sisters in an Instagram post which detailed the singer’s years-long struggle with depression. They revealed that her condition had worsened recently, resulting in the attempt to take her own life over the weekend.
The same post asks Lee’s fans to respect the family’s privacy, but also acknowledges her remarkable career spanning more than three decades.
“Coco is also known to have worked tirelessly to open up a new world for Chinese singers in the international music scene,” reads the caption.
Lee was born in Hong Kong, but grew up in the U.S. She returned to Hong Kong after winning a singing contest at the age of 17 which kickstarted her career.
With songs in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin, Lee was able to rise to international fame. In 1998, Disney selected her for Mulan’s theme song Reflection.
Three years later in 2001 she sang A Love Before Time for the Academy Award-winning film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which she famously performed at the Oscars that same year.
The news of Lee’s passing quickly spread across Chinese social media, and was amplified when Jackie Chan posted a selfie with the singer on his Weibo account, with a related hashtag amassing over a million views at the time of writing.
“Coco, you are born a star, with such awesome talent and unique personal style,” reads the emotional post. “Your voice, dancing and sunny smile have left a mark on many. You brought so much to this world. There is now one more star in the sky, may there be no sickness there. Rest in peace.”
The singer’s death touched many in China, sparking discussion around mental health in the country, and in the Asian entertainment industry.
A Weibo post with over 21,000 likes remembers other pop stars who took their own lives, calling for increased awareness about depression.
“Kimi Qiao, Sulli, Leslie Cheung, Coco Lee, all of them were taken away by depression. Let’s stop overlooking it, because depression is a hidden sickness.”
According the World Health Organization, depression is prevalent in China with over 54 million citizens affected. RADII recently wrote about ‘Brain Fog’ a indie documentary on the theme of mental health in China, by filmmaker Jidi Guo.
Cover image via Instagram
