Millions of Asians tuned in on their television screens on a Monday in March 2001 to watch Coco Lee sing A Love Before Time – the stirring theme from the acclaimed film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – at the 73rd Academy Awards.
Donning a red qipao, a traditional Chinese outfit, and golden chandelier earrings, Lee sang alongside a group of kungfu dancers, becoming the first Chinese-American to perform at the Oscars. The song was also nominated for best original song that year.
The then 26-year-old spoke of her ambition to leave an Asian footprint, literally, on the international stage. “I could sing for 30 years and never get the chance to perform like this,” Lee had said of the ground-breaking performance.
Lee died in Hong Kong on Wednesday at the age of 48. Her sisters, who broke the news on social media, said she had been suffering from depression for a few years and tried to take her own life on Sunday.
Long before representation became a talking point in entertainment, Lee became one of the first Asian singers to shoot to fame on both sides of the Pacific.
Born Ferren Lee on January 17, 1975, in Hong Kong, she moved to the US with her family when she was a secondary school student. After graduating from a public high school in California, she returned to Hong Kong, and then moved to Taiwan to launch her singing career. She soon broke into the Mandopop scene in 1994 with two albums.
Within a few years, she released English-language albums and crossed over to American charts. Disney hired her to voice the lead character in the Mandarin version of its hit film Mulan, for which she also sang the theme song, Reflection.
Her hit Before I Fall in Love made it to the soundtrack of the Julia Roberts-and-Richard Gere film Runaway Bride; and Do You Want My Love soared to the fourth spot on the US Billboard in 2000.
Lee will be remembered for “laying the groundwork, culturally and musically,” in bridging the gap between East Asian and Western audiences, entertainment blogger Brandon Lewis told the BBC. Some fans likened her to Mariah Carey.
She holds a special spot among Chinese millennials who grew up listening to her music in Mandarin and English. It was a time when Mandopop flourished as economies like China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore boomed. Amid a sea of demure female singers crooning ballads, Li Wen – as she is known in the Chinese-speaking world – stood out with her confident image, sexy dance moves and brightly-coloured locks.
One of her songs Di Da Di, a Chinese cover of a Danish pop song, became an instant hit and a karaoke staple after it appeared in an advertisement in mainland China.
Behind the fame and flamboyance, Lee remained close with her mother and sisters.
In the early years of her career, her sister Nancy served as Lee’s wardrobe consultant, public relations officer and makeup artist – including on Oscar night – while her mother was manager and accountant. It was in fact Nancy who suggested the moniker Coco.
As a child, Lee had wanted to follow in her mother’s footsteps to become a doctor. She initially tried to juggle singing with pre-medical studies in university, but eventually left school to focus on her pop career.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Lee’s sisters Carol and Nancy spoke poignantly of how their younger sister “worked tirelessly to open up a new world for Chinese singers in the international music scene”.
“She went all out to shine for the Chinese. We are proud of her,” they wrote.
Lee’s death came as a shock to fans and fellow artistes who remember her for her shiny smile and exuberance on stage. Inevitably, it sparked a discussion about mental health on social media.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon director Ang Lee said he was “very shocked” to hear the news, and star Jackie Chan said Lee had “such great talent and unique personal style” and was “born to be a star”. “There will be one more star in the sky from now on,” he added.
On YouTube, where fans are re-watching Lee’s music videos and leaving tributes, one comment read: “I hope Li Wen can continue singing up in heaven, far away from pain and illness. Your song will forever live in our hearts.”
