Fans, friends, and family gathered in Hong Kong on Monday to pay their respects to Coco Lee, a Hong Kong-born American singer and songwriter who passed away at the age of 48 after a successful career spanning three decades. The funeral took place at a funeral home in the eastern part of Hong Kong island, where nearly one thousand fans, many dressed in black, lined up in the summer heat to enter the funeral hall after a private service.
Outside the hall, fans held a banner with the message, “The love you leave behind has become an ocean of stars,” accompanied by a picture of Coco Lee in a white dress. One fan, Angie Zhang, shared how Lee’s songs created a special bond between her and her future husband during their university days. She expressed her desire to accompany Lee on her final journey, saying, “When we heard the news that she passed away, our minds went blank.”
Inside the funeral hall, people entered and bowed in front of Lee’s coffin adorned with purple and pink flowers. A portrait of the singer with the words, “In loving memory of CoCo Lee,” accompanied the tribute. Lee, who had battled depression for several years, tragically passed away at Queen Mary Hospital on July 5 in Hong Kong after a suicide attempt three days earlier.
Jackie Chan, a prominent Hong Kong film star, praised Lee’s achievements and expressed pride in her groundbreaking performances. He said, “She was the first Asian singer who went to sing on the Oscar stage, this makes us all proud of her.” He added, “I hope you can dance and sing freely in heaven.”
Born in Hong Kong in 1975, Coco Lee was the youngest of three children. She rose to fame as an ethnically Chinese star who achieved international recognition. Throughout her career, she recorded 18 studio albums and appeared in three films. Lee’s notable performances include voicing the character Mulan in the Mandarin-language version of Disney’s “Mulan” and performing the Oscar-nominated song “A Love Before Time” from the film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”. Lee married Canadian businessman Bruce Rockowitz in 2011, and she is survived by him, her two sisters, and two stepdaughters.
Writing by James Pomfret; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Christina Fincher
