Disney’s ‘Mulan’ star Coco Lee has died at the age of 48

Hong Kong-born singer-songwriter Coco Lee died after battling depression and a failed suicide attempt at home on July 2. She was 48 years old.

Lee’s sisters Carol and Nancy Lee said the Chinese singer tried to take her own life at home on Sunday, before attempts to treat her in hospital failed and she died on Wednesday.

“With great sadness, we are here to deliver the most devastating news: CoCo had been suffering from depression for some years but her condition has deteriorated dramatically in recent months. Though CoCo sought professional help and did her best to fight the depression, sadly that demon inside her got the better of her,” the Lee sisters she said in a Facebook/Instagram post.

“On July 2, she committed suicide at home and was hospitalized. Despite the hospital team’s best efforts to rescue and cure her of her coma, she ultimately passed away on July 5, 2023,” she added.

Born on January 17, 1975 in then British-controlled Hong Kong, Lee made her mark in the United States after moving to San Francisco at the age of 8 with her mother and two sisters. After high school, Lee attended the University of California at Irvine, but a burgeoning career as a pop singer in Hong Kong eventually got the better of her and she eventually had a commercial breakthrough in Asia.

She topped the Mandarin and Cantonese pop music markets, and her English-language performances included singing the song “Before I Fall In Love” for the Runaway bride soundtrack and the soundtrack “A Love Before Time” for the Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon film, which he performed at the 2001 Academy Awards.

Lee also voiced the main character in Disney’s Mandarin version Mulan tent pole. Her family in the social media post paid tribute to the hospital workers who cared for Lee and said their immediate thoughts were with her grieving mother.

“As CoCo’s family, we are very grateful and honored to have such an excellent and exceptional sister. We are grateful to God for giving us such a kind angel. We now know that she has gone to a happier place and she no longer suffers from depression; We trust God to look after her best interests! Now, our greatest responsibility is to take care of our elderly mother. I hope everyone will pray for this poor old lady and give us time and privacy to heal,” wrote the Lee sisters.