Chinese language American Pop Star CoCo Lee, Who Grew Up in San Francisco, Dies by Suicide at 48

A widely known pop singer in Asia who grew up in San Francisco has died by suicide at age 48, in keeping with social media.

CoCo Lee (李玟), a celebrity within the Chinese language-speaking world, had been struggling for years with melancholy. On Sunday, the singer was discovered unresponsive and rushed to the hospital, her household mentioned on Fb on Wednesday.

“Regardless of the very best efforts of the hospital staff to rescue and deal with her from her coma, she lastly handed away on 5 July, 2023,” the submit mentioned.

Chinese language-language media reported that Lee was first discovered at her Hong Kong house by her mom.

Lee was born in Hong Kong in 1975 and immigrated to San Francisco when she was 9 years outdated. She attended Presidio Center Faculty and Raoul Wallenberg Conventional Excessive Faculty.

In 1991, Lee was topped Miss Teenage Chinatown in San Francisco, successfully the start of her stardom.

Yvonne Lee, the previous president of the San Francisco Chinatown Lions Membership, the organizer of the teenage pageant, informed The Customary she’s saddened by the information. She mentioned that CoCo Lee was a hardworking lady who would come to the coaching early to be the final one to depart and assist out.

Lee later enrolled at College of California Irvine however didn’t full her research, leaving for Hong Kong to pursue a profession in music.

This yr marked the thirtieth anniversary of Lee’s singing profession.

“Up to now 29 years, she’s received numerous worldwide acclaim with top-selling songs and has left audiences with an astounding impression of her wonderful stay performances,” her household’s submit said.

Maybe the main spotlight of her profession, notably for American audiences, was the music “A Love Earlier than Time” from Ang Lee’s 2000 movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It was nominated for Greatest Unique Tune on the Oscars. Lee sang it on the 73rd Academy Awards ceremony, making her the primary Chinese language singer to carry out on the Oscars.