Family troubles and lawsuits behind Coco Lee's shocking death at 48

On July 5, 2023, the Chinese-American singer Coco Lee died from complications stemming from an earlier attempt to take her life. The singer was laid to rest on July 31st, but recent events suggest that coverage of her death is far from over.

Content warning: This gallery contains mentions of death and depression.

Channel News Asia confirmed the news of the star's unexpected death.

Image: cocolee / Instagram

South China Morning Post reported that Coco Lee’s surviving family revealed on social media that the singer had been battling depression for the past few years. It was related to the fact that her overall health had declined.

Image: cocolee / Instagram

Coco Lee was reported to have passed from a coma after an attempt on her own life. According to The Straits Times, the singer's death was a tragedy because her own mother, a Chinese Traditional Medicine practitioner, had made desperate attempts to save her life using acupuncture after Western doctors had given up trying to save her.

Image: cocolee / Instagram

According to 8days, producer Jae Chong revealed that Coco Lee had been battling breast cancer in addition to other health issues. This occupied the star for months before her passing. Despite revealing it to her siblings and close friends, the matter was kept a secret from not just her fans but also her mom.

Image: cocolee / Instagram

Aside from the now-common knowledge that Coco Lee died from an attempt to end her life, The Straits Times reports that several news outlets incorrectly claimed Coco Lee died by cutting herself. Family members have since urged the public and news outlets to refrain from speculation while Hong Kong authorities investigate the exact cause of death.

Image: cocolee / Instagram

Coco Lee, born Ferren Lee, was a Chinese-American singer best known for her hits in Mandopop and for her impact on the American music industry as one of the scene’s most prominent singers of Asian descent. She also made important contributions to the Disney movie 'Mulan' as a voice actress and singer.

Coco Lee was born on January 17, 1975, in Hong Kong. According to the Los Angeles Times, she moved to the United States with her family when she was nine years old and lived in San Francisco for the majority of her life until she was offered a recording contract.

According to China Daily, while just fresh out of high school and while visiting Hong Kong, Coco Lee was offered a recording contract by Capital Artists after participating in the 12th Annual New Talent Singing Awards hosted by TVB and coming out second.

According to the same report, Coco Lee accepted the contract, but because she needed to continue her studies, she attempted to juggle work and school while attending the University of California, Irvine.

However, the juggling did not work out, as Coco Lee eventually dropped out after her freshman year to go full-time into music instead, according to the South China Morning Post. This worked out for Coco Lee, as she eventually became a big hit.

Coco Lee made her debut in 1993, with the release of her first two Mandarin albums, titled 'Love from Now On’ and ‘Promise Me’. She also demonstrated her versatility in singing in both languages, as she went on to release an English album later in 1995, titled ‘Brave Enough to Love’.

Image: cocolee / Instagram

Coco Lee’s music would become a big hit later in 1996 with the release of her album, ‘Coco Lee’. It was a significant year. Not only did her album become the best-selling album in Asia at that time, but Coco Lee also switched labels to work with Sony Music.

Image: cocolee / Instagram

Among Coco Lee’s best hits are ‘Sunny Day’, ‘Do You Want My Love’, and ‘Reflection’.

Image: cocolee / Instagram

Coco Lee's voice may be known to many because she acted in Disney’s animated film ‘Mulan’ and voiced the Taiwanese Mandarin version of Mulan. She was also tasked with writing and singing the film’s theme song, ‘Reflection’, then in 1998, and singing it again for the live adaptation in 2020.

Coco Lee was also active in her activism for several causes through her music. For one, she was known for releasing an anti-tobacco song, ‘From the Beginning 'til the End’ with Cantopop legend Jacky Cheung, and for singing ‘Hand in Hand’ with singers like Wang Leehom to raise funds to help those affected by the SARS epidemic.

The Straits Times reports that Coco Lee once lost her voice back in 2014 due to a bout of bronchitis and several other throat complications, which led her to quit singing. However, the star made her recovery soon after, two years later, in a surprising return.

2016 was the year of Coco Lee’s triumphant return to music as the singer surprised many by being one of the participants of the star-studded Chinese reality singing competition ‘I Am A Singer’ and even went on to win the competition!

Image: cocolee / Instagram

Coco Lee was relatively active in the scene until her sudden announcement of health issues in November 2022. According to Global Times, the singer revealed that she had been suffering from a birth defect that caused her to rely on her right leg to perform, which eventually affected her ability to walk and caused her to be in excruciating pain.

Image: cocolee / Instagram

Coco Lee shocked fans once again when she revealed on social media in January this year that she had lost a lot of weight due to further health complications. AsiaOne reports that the singer posted a photo with a drainage bag attached to her body. When asked for details by fans on what happened, the singer did not respond other than mentioning she’s working on her recovery.

Image: cocolee / Instagram

Unfortunately, fans were not able to witness the singer get back on her feet as Coco Lee passed away on 5 July due to mental health issues. Her death has come as a shock to the Chinese music community and her many fans around the world.

Even after Coco Lee's death, it appears that not all is well with her family, as conflicts arose, as well as speculations as to what caused the singer's death as her now bereaved husband and stepdaughters now stand accused of being the cause of the singer's decision to take her own life.

Image: Disney

According to Yahoo, netizens speculated Coco Lee's decision to end her life was motivated by marital problems with her husband, Canadian businessman Bruce Rockowitz. Bruce Rockowitz was accused of having an affair with Hong Kong actress Anita Chui, whom he met at a charity event. The actress herself has since denied the rumour.

Image: Coco Lee / Facebook

The Straits Times reports that Bruce Rockowitz has been accused of being involved in a dispute over the distribution of Coco Lee's estate, in addition to the affair rumours that have been circulating.

Image: Sony Music

According to another The Straits Times report, Bruce Rockowitz has since spoken out to refute these claims, saying that he and his family have always respected Coco's wish for financial privacy, and that this arrangement will continue even in the wake of the singer's passing.

Image: cocolee / Instagram

The behaviour of Coco Lee's surviving sisters at the late singer's funeral service on July 31st fueled rumours about Bruce Rockowitz's involvement in her death. According to 8days, the sisters were heard sobbing that something, or someone, had caused their sister's death. Netizens quickly speculated that the wails were targeted at Bruce Rockowitz.

Image: Coco Lee / Facebook

Another 8days article pointed out that Bruce Rockowitz and his two daughters made erratic appearances at the funeral and wake for the late star. People online found it odd that Coco's surviving husband and stepdaughters were only present for her memorial service and skipped the family's private funeral, only to later show up unexpectedly for Coco's final cremation.

Image: cocolee / Instagram

According to Today Online, after the cremation of Coco Lee, Mainland Chinese fans of the singer confronted Bruce Rockowitz outside of the Cape Collinson Crematorium in Hong Kong, hurling abuse at him and his family and blaming him for Coco's attempt to end her life.

Image: cocolee / Instagram

These allegations did not come as a surprise, especially in light of the many reports, including one from AsiaOne, which stated that the couple had been planning to sign divorce papers in July before Coco Lee's untimely death. Further, the report notes that Bruce Rockowitz was ommitted from the late singer's obituary in Hong Kong newspapers.

Image: Sony Music

In defense of himself and in response to angry fans, Bruce Rockowitz said in an report on Today: "I have 100 per cent nothing to do with her death... We have a 20-year relationship. No relationship is 100 per cent perfect".

Image: cocolee / Instagram

Coco Lee made headlines again in August when a video of her accusing Sing! China management of workplace mistreatment circulated on Weibo. The recording enraged many and not only caused the show to be shut down, but also caused Sing! China's stock to plummet, according to AsiaOne.

Image: Zhejiang TV

Despite the fact that circumstantial evidence appears to prove Coco's claims in her recording and has caused Star CM Media, which manages Sing! China, to be despised by the public, The Malay Mail reports that Star CM Media has gone ahead and sued Coco Lee's management, Warner Music China, for contract disputes.

Image: Zhejiang TV

The lawsuit from Star CM Media adds to the family feuds and workplace abuse scandals that have erupted in the aftermath of Coco Lee's death. It appears that Coco Lee and those close to her will unfortunately, not be able to rest for the time being.

Image: Zhejiang TV