CoCo Lee(李玟 Lǐ wén) is a talented artist born in Hong Kong(1975). She is the youngest among all siblings, and she has 2 older sisters. Her family emigrated to USA when she was little. She studied in the middle and high school in San Francisco, where she was crowned Miss Teen Chinatown in 1991. She attended the University of California at Irvine, intending to study biology and aiming to become a doctor, but dropped out after her freshman year due to the follwoing music career. However, her passion for music led her down a different path.
Her stardom began with the participation on one singing competition held in Hong Kong in 1993.
After this competition, she moved to Taiwan to launch singing career and several music albums.She gained international recognition for her powerful vocals and became a renowned Mandopop singer. One of her masterpieces is Di Da Di(1998), a Chinese cover of a Danish pop song from Maria Montell , which is a hit and went viral in karaoke, BGM of any department stores in all Mandarin-speaking world. This song is so catchy that people can sing at least 2-3 setences when the music appears in public.
Moreover, she did the dubbing for one of most famous Disney animation, Mulan(1998), as the dubber for the leading actress
CoCo Lee’s career reached new heights when she contributed to the Oscar-winning film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” with her exceptional talent in 2000-2001.
In addition to her personal albums, she also joined several singing competition designed for veteran singers as the participant, a guest singer, or a judge such as I Am A Singer(我是歌手), and Singer(歌手).
One of example is that she reinterpreted Nobody But You, the well-known K-POP song, with Latin music elements.
Another example is that she co-sang Bang Bang with british singer, Jessie J, and fillipino singer, KZ Tandingan.
In the recent time, she contributed herself to the theme song for the Disney movie(2020), Mulan, and the song is 自己(Zì jǐ, reflection in translation)
For myself, my sister and I have been her fans for over 25 years. Until today, we still keep Coco Lee’s albums and posters that we bought in 90s and is even filled with the dust even though people now access to music through straming softwares like Spotify.
While her journey has been marked by success and acclaim, CoCo Lee has also faced personal challenges behind the fame and flamboyance. She has openly spoken about her battle with depression, bravely sharing her experiences and raising awareness about mental health. Additionally, CoCo Lee has fought and overcome cancer, showing tremendous strength and resilience.
Furthermore, CoCo Lee has faced physical difficulties, as she had an issue with her left leg for the long time. She did not recover fully even after several rounds of surgeries.
On the other hand, she got married with the Canadian businessman at the age of 36 in 2011. During the 12-year marriage lift, one of her biggest wishes is to have children, but she failed to fulfill her dream after trying Intrauterine insemination(IUI) for 9 times unsuccessfully. Plus, it seems that she had some rifts with her husband in current years, and these things make her health condition worse.
However, she has not let these obstacles deter her from pursuing her dreams and continues to inspire others with her perseverance over the past years.
Unfortunately, failing to triumph over these diseases and depression, she passed away on 5th of July, 2023. CoCo Lee has also been an advocate for mental health, openly discussing her struggles with depression. Despite facing personal challenges, including her battle with cancer and issues with her left leg, CoCo Lee’s determination and resilience have made her an inspiration and encouragement to many people now and in the future.
Reference:
Coco Lee, ‘Crouching Tiger’ and ‘Mulan’ Singer, Dies at 48, The New York Times.
Coco Lee: The pioneering singer who charmed the world, BBC NEWS
【天后過世】李玟與老公結婚12年嘗試9次人工受孕 「無法成為母親」成最大遺憾，上報。
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