Coco Lee
CoCo Lee (Chinese: 李玟; 17 January 1975 – 5 July 2023) was a Chinese-American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was one of the best-selling artists in Asia and is widely regarded as a significant figure and a diva. Her career began in 1993 in Hong Kong, and she gained early fame in Taiwan through a series of successful albums, establishing herself as an icon. She released 18 studio albums, 2 live records, and 5 compilations.
Lee, who was described as the "Asian Mariah Carey", was noted for her Americanized dance routines. She voiced the lead character of Fa Mulan in the Mandarin version of the 1998 Disney film Mulan and sang its theme song, "Reflection".
Lee was the first Chinese singer to have music released globally, making her the first Chinese singer to break into the western market. Her 1999 album Just No Other Way was the first ever English-language album recorded by a Chinese singer. Her 2000 single "Do You Want My Love" achieved international success, appearing on the US Billboard Hot Dance Breakouts Chart at No. 4 and entering the top 50 of the US Billboard Dance Club Songs Chart while also peaking at No. 14 on the Australian Singles Chart and No. 20 on the Official Chart in New Zealand.
Her 2000 song "A Love Before Time", from the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and she performed it at the 73rd Academy Awards, becoming the first, and so far only, Chinese artist to perform at the Oscars. Lee was also the first Asian-American singer to sing the US National Anthem at an NBA game, the first Asian singer to hold a concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the first non-mainland Chinese singer to win the Chinese singing reality show I Am a Singer, and the first Asian brand ambassador for Chanel. In her final years, Lee struggled with health problems, having been diagnosed with depression in 2019. She died by suicide in Hong Kong in 2023, aged 48.
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