Coco Lee (1975-2023) was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor born in Hong Kong. She is the first Asian artist to perform at the Oscars and the first Chinese brand ambassador for luxury brand Chanel. In July 2023, she committed suicide at the age of 48.
Wiki/Biography
Coco Lee was born in British Hong Kong (now Hong Kong) on Friday, January 17, 1975 (age 48; at time of death). Her zodiac sign is Capricorn. At the age of nine, she moved with her family from Hong Kong to San Francisco. She attended Presidio High School and Raoul Wallenberg Traditional High School in San Francisco. She often sang at home when she was a child. After hearing her singing, her sister and mother encouraged her to pursue singing as a career. In middle school, she won the title of “Miss Chinatown Teen”. She was elected class president when she was in high school.
Li Min playing volleyball
After graduating from high school in 1992, she received an invitation to sign a contract with a Hong Kong record company. She attended the University of California, Irvine. While studying in college, she attempted to balance her singing career with her studies; however, she dropped out of college after her freshman year to focus entirely on her singing career.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′6″
Weight (approximately): 42.3kg
Coco Lee shares a weight-revealing photo on Instagram
Hair color: brown
Eye color: brown
family
Coco’s father comes from a Malaysian family and her mother comes from a Hong Kong Cantonese family.
Parents and siblings
Her father died before she was born. Her mother is a surgeon. She has two sisters, Carol Lee and Nancy Lee, who are her managers.
Coco Lee with her mother and sisters
husband and children
On October 27, 2011, she married Bruce Rockowitz, a Canadian businessman living in Hong Kong. The couple had a Jewish wedding at which many famous singers performed, including Bruno Mars, Alicia Keys and Ne-Yo.
Ne-Yo performs at Coco Lee and Bruce Rockowitz’s wedding
On the occasion of her wedding, she released the English and Chinese versions of the song “I Just Wanna Marry You” on October 24, 2011. She has two stepdaughters named Rachel and Sarah, who were born to Bruce from a previous marriage.
Coco Lee with Bruce Rockowitz and his daughters
Relationships/Affairs
Coco Lee and Bruce Rockowitz got married in 2011 after dating for eight years.
Signature/Autograph
Coco Lee autographs her music CD
Profession
singer
In 1992, she participated in the 12th Annual Rookie Contest and won second place singing Whitney Houston’s song “Run to You”. The next day, Capital Artists, a Hong Kong record company, approached her and signed a recording contract with them.
Cantonese
In October 1993, he made his debut with the Cantonese compilation album “Red Hot Hits’93 Autumn Edition”. In November 1994, she appeared on a compilation album titled “Statement of Love, Duet Songs”. In 1997, she released the album “Be Careful Next Time”.
mandarin
On June 15, 1994, she released her first Mandarin solo album “Love Starts From Now” on Huapai Records. In 1996, she signed a recording contract with Sony Music Entertainment and released the album “CoCo Lee” on June 14, 1996, which became the best-selling album in Asia in 1996. In 1998, her album “Di Da Di” sold approximately 1 million copies within three months of its release.
Coco Lee’s 1998 album “Didi Didi” poster
English
On June 12, 1995, she released her first English album “Brave Enough to Love”. In November 1999, she released another album titled “Just No Other Way”. In March 2005, she released her first English album “Exposes” under Sony BMG. Her album “Exposes” was banned in mainland China due to explicit lyrics in some songs.
global cooperation
The song “Color” from her 1998 Mandarin album “Sunny Days” was used as the opening song of the Football World Cup, and the song “Answer” from the same album was used in the Hong Kong Cantonese romance film “Pretty Girl”.’ In the same year, She sang the theme song “Reflection” and provided the voice of Mulan in the Chinese version of Walt Disney Pictures’ animated film “Mulan.” In August 1998, she held a concert in Taiwan and performed in front of more than 50,000 fans, becoming the first concert of such a large scale held in Taiwan after Michael Jackson.
Coco Lee and Michael Jackson
She also performed at Michael Jackson’s “Michael Jackson and Friends” benefit concert in Seoul in 1999.
Coco Lee performs at the “Michael Jackson & Friends” charity concert
In 1999, her song “Before I Fall in Love” was included in the soundtrack of the American movie “Fugitive Bride”. She collaborated with Leehom Wang, Stefanie Sun, Elva Hsiao and many other artists to record the songs “We Meet the Future” and “Hand in Hand” to raise funds and awareness for the SARS disease. In 2001, she sang the song “Love Before Time” for the Chinese martial arts film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”. She performed the song at the 2001 Academy Awards, making her the first Chinese-American artist to do so.
Coco Lee performs at the Oscars
She collaborated with Hong Kong singer Jacky Cheung to release a song against tobacco consumption, “From the Beginning ’til the End”. In 2003, she dubbed the anti-racist song “A Dream of One” sung by South Korean singer Park Jin Young. In the same year, she performed at the MTV Asia Awards in Singapore with Jamaican singer Shaggy. In 2008, Coco was selected to sing the song “Forever Friends” with Sun Nan for the Olympic Games. In 2010, she released the song “BYOB” (Bring Your Own Bag) to promote the reuse and recycling of shopping bags to protect the environment. In the same year, she collaborated with some Asian artists to record the song “Smiling Shanghai” for the 2010 World Expo. On December 17, 2011, she performed at the “Booey Lehoo Concert” in Beijing with famous artists including will.i.am and apl.de.ap of the American band “Black Eyed Peas”, John Legend and Shunza .
Coco Lee performs with members of the Black Eyed Peas
On February 9, 2012, she performed at the “I AM WILL/I AM ANGEL Benefit Concert” at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, along with will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas.
Movie
In 2004, she played Tang Luhua in the Chinese comedy film “Master of All Purpose”. She guest-starred as Teacher Han in the 2015 Chinese adult film Forever Young.
Poster of the 2015 movie “Youth”
television
She has served as a judge on many Chinese reality shows, including “Chinese Idol” (2013), “Dancing with the Stars China” (2015), “Super Idol” (2015) and “World’s Got Talent” ( 2019).
Awards
- 1998: The song “Didi Didi” won the International Audience Choice Award at the China MTV Music Video Awards
- 2000: Golden Melody Award for Best Mandarin Female Singer
- 2001: Won the Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Original Film Song for the song “Moonlight Lovers”
- 2013: Mnet Asian Music Awards Best Chinese Female Artist Award
- 2014: Best Female Singer Award at the Chinese Music Chart Awards Ceremony
- 2016: Best Female Singer Award at Chinese Music Festival
- 2019: Most Influential Female Artist Award at the Chinese Chart Awards Ceremony
Coco Lee attended the Chinese Music Festival
die
On July 2, 2023, she attempted suicide at her home in Hong Kong and subsequently fell into a coma. She was sent to Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong for treatment. She passed away on July 5, 2023, at the age of 48. According to her sister, Coco had suffered from depression for years and she had sought professional help to combat it; however, she could not overcome it.
tattoo
The word “love” and a heart are engraved on her left arm.
Coco Lee left arm tattoo
She has the word “peace” and a star tattooed on her right arm.
The tattoo on Coco Lee’s right arm
Favorites
- Singer: Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Madonna
- Song: “How You Make Me Feel” by Michael Jackson
Facts/Trivia
- Coco Lee is the first Chinese pop singer to enter the American music industry.
- Some of the musicians she counts as inspirations and would like to collaborate with include Beyoncé, Rihanna and Lady Gaga.
- She has promoted numerous beauty and apparel brands, including Estée Lauder, Ralph Lauren, Max Mara and La Mer.
- In 2004, she went to Bangkok, Thailand, as a Youth AIDS Ambassador to attend the World AIDS Conference, where she represented Asian artists and contacted different youth groups to discuss how to educate them about AIDS.
- She was appointed as the spokesperson for Hong Kong cancer charity Cancer Foundation’s Pink Revolution.
- In February 2016, she revealed that she lost her voice due to acute bronchitis and experienced severe throat problems.
- She is a fashion enthusiast who enjoys reading fashion magazines and watching fashion shows to learn about fashion trends.
- In 2019, she appeared on the cover of Chic magazine.
Coco appears on the cover of Chic magazine
- She is an animal lover and has a pet rabbit named Madge.
Coco Lee and her pet rabbit
- She follows a non-vegetarian diet.
Coco Lee’s Instagram post about her pre-birthday dinner
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education