Coco Lee, popular Chinese American singer, dies by suicide at 48

Coco Lee, a popular singer and the first Chinese American to perform at the Oscars, died on Wednesday by suicide. She was 48 years old.

Lee's elder sisters Carol and Nancy Lee announced her death on Chinese and US social media. They said the star had been suffering from depression for several years, with her condition deteriorating drastically over the last few months.

"Although, CoCo sought professional help and did her best to fight depression, sadly that demon inside of her took the better of her," the sisters wrote in a statement posted on Instagram.

"On 2 July, she committed suicide at home and was sent to the hospital. Despite the best efforts of the hospital team to rescue and treat her from her coma, she finally passed away on 5 July, 2023," the statement read.

In her nearly 30-year singing career, Lee "won countless international acclaims with top selling songs" and "went all out to shine for the Chinese", said the statement.

Lee was born in 1975 in Hong Kong and later moved to the US and attended middle school and high school in San Francisco.

After graduating from high school, she focused on singing and launched her career in Hong Kong. She had a highly successful career in Asia as a pop singer in the 1990s and 2000s, where she was known for her powerful voice and live performances.

She was best known for singing the Chinese version of the song Reflection of Disney's 1998 animated film Mulan. She was also the voice of the heroine Mulan in the film's Chinese dubbing.

The singer was also famous for the song A Love Before Time in Ang Lee's film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She performed the song at the 73rd Academy Awards in 2001.

In recent years, Lee remained active in China and served as a judge on various singing competitions and reality shows.

In 2011, Lee married Bruce Rockowitz, a Canadian businessman who is the former CEO of Hong Kong supply chain company Li &Fung. Lee had two stepdaughters from her marriage with Rockowitz. She is survived by her mother.