Actress/singer Coco Lee who became popular for voicing Mulan in the Mandarin version of Disney’s “Mulan,” has been confirmed dead by suicide.
Her sisters, Carol and Nancy said she attempted suicide at home on Sunday, July 2, and was sent to a hospital, where she slipped into a coma and died on Wednesday, July 5, despite attempts to save her life.
Coco suffered from depression for years, and her family said that while she sought professional help, her condition drastically deteriorated over the last few months and she ultimately took her own life.
In addition to her work with Disney, Coco performed an Oscar-nominated song, “A Love Before Time,” in the movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” as part of a three-decade career as a singer.
The actress who died at the age of 48, was born in Hong Kong but attended middle school and high school in San Francisco where she was crowned 1991’s Miss Teen Chinatown.
She was the first Chinese singer to go big in America, with her song “Do You Want My Love” reaching No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Breakout chart way back in 1999.
Coco’s family is remembering her for working “tirelessly to open up a new world for Chinese singers in the international music scene, and she went all out to shine for the Chinese.”