Hong Kong-born Singer and Mulan Star Coco Lee Dies Aged 48

The Hong Kong-born singer Coco Lee, beloved across Asia as the voice of Disney’s Mulan in Mandarin and for her soaring vocals, has died.

The 48-year-old had suffered from depression in recent years, “but her condition deteriorated drastically over the last few months”, Coco’s older sisters, Carol and Nancy, said in an Instagram post.

They said she was admitted to a Hong Kong hospital on Sunday after attempting to take her own life, and died on Wednesday.

“Although Coco sought professional help and did her best to fight depression, sadly that demon inside of her took the better of her,” the statement read.

Born Ferren Lee on January 17, 1975, in what was then the British colony of Hong Kong, Lee later moved to California where she went to secondary school.

Lee became a singer after winning first runner-up in an annual singing competition held by Hong Kong broadcaster TVB and released her first album in 1994 at the age of 19.