Coco Lee: Hong Kong pop singer’s star moments, from singing at the Oscars to US$20 million wedding, as fans mourn her death at age 48
- The Hong Kong-born singer moved to San Francisco as a child where she got her first taste of fame in 1991
- Lee voiced Fa Mulan in the Mandarin version of Disney’s 1998 film Mulan
Here we look at some of her star moments.
Early signs
Born in Hong Kong in 1975, Lee moved to San Francisco in the US when she was nine. In 1991, aged 16, she was crowned Miss Teen Chinatown San Francisco.
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Hong Kong music icon Coco Lee dies aged 48 after suicide attempt, sisters say
After graduating from high school in the US in 1993, she visited Hong Kong and “just for fun” entered the TVB New Talent Singing Contest.
She sang the 1992 hit “Run to You” by US star Whitney Houston and placed second in the contest. She was offered a recording contract the following day.
“I was 18 and supposed to go back to school. But I also had an opportunity to be a singer and I asked myself what I should do,” Lee said.
She briefly attended the University of California with plans to study biology – she wanted to become a doctor – but dropped out to pursue a career in entertainment.
Oscar performance
Lee sang the song “A Love Before Time” on Ang Lee’s hit movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and in March 2001 she performed the track at the 73rd Academy Awards.
The song was nominated for best original song and her much-lauded performance of it at the event was the first time a Chinese-American had performed at the Oscars.
The Chinese version of the same song earned her the award for best original film song at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2001.
Lee also voiced Fa Mulan in the Mandarin version of the 1998 Disney hit Mulan, for which she also sang the song “Reflection”.
Having a ball
In 2002, Lee sang the US national anthem at the National Basketball Association (NBA) debut of Chinese basketball superstar Yao Ming, who started his NBA career with the Houston Rockets.
The occasion made Lee the first Chinese-American singer to sing the US national anthem at a major global sporting event.
A wedding to remember
In 2011, Lee made headlines when, after dating for eight years, she married Canadian billionaire Bruce Rockowitz in an extravagant wedding at the Shaw Brothers Studio in Hong Kong that reportedly cost around US$20 million.
Adding star power to the lavish affair were US singers Bruno Mars and Alicia Keys.
For the wedding, Lee released the song “I Just Wanna Marry You”.
