The world lost a talented performer later today who played a huge role in connecting Walt Disney Pictures’ Mulan (1998) with China itself. Actress Coco Lee was born in Hong Kong and is best known for her singing, songwriting, and performance as the voice of the Disney Princess in Mandarin. The Mulan actress was unfortunately only 48 years old and passed away in the hospital after a suicide attempt.
Despite adoring fans and a successful career, Coco Lee struggled with depression. Lee attempted to take her life at her home on Sunday July 2, but failed and was rushed to the hospital. After she went into a coma, doctors efforts were unfortunately not able to save her and she passed away by Wednesday July 5.
Through social media, Coco Lee’s sisters Carol and Nancy shared this message,
With great sadness, we are here to break the most devastating news: CoCo had been suffering from depression for a few years but her condition deteriorated drastically over the last few months. Although CoCo sought professional help and did her best to fight depression, sadly that demon inside of her took the better of her.
This Chinese actress played Fa Mulan in the dubbed Mandarin version of Disney’s classic Mulan. Disney’s original version of Mulan starred Ming Na Wen as the lead actress for Mulan and Lea Salonga as her singing voice. In the Mandarin version, Coco Lee provided both.
Lee was also a beloved singer-songwriter in Hong Kong. She was the first Chinese American singer to perform at the Oscars for her song “A Love Before Time” from the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2001) soundtrack. The Mulan star was also featured on the soundtrack for the romantic comedy Runaway Bride (1999) with her song “Before I Fall in Love.” Coco Lee was also the first Chinese ambassador for Chanel.
Her sisters continued,
As a family of CoCo, we are very grateful and honored to have such an excellent and outstanding sister. We are thankful to God for giving us such a kind angel. We know now she has gone to a happier place and no longer suffers from depression; we trust God has her best interest looked after!
The month of May marks Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! Disney is celebrating with character appearances, as well as special food and drinks. We’re ecstatic Walt Disney World has welcomed back Moana, Mulan, and Mira to the parks!
As shared by Disney: At Magic Kingdom Park, Moana and Mulan have recently joined other favorite characters in appearances on character cavalcades and the upper level of the Main Street Railroad Station to interact with guests throughout the day.
Mulan is also visiting EPCOT once again, where you may see her welcoming guests to World Showcase as part of the Princess Processional.
Over at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Mira, the royal detective from India, has joined the Disney Junior Motorcade.
We’re thrilled that Moana and Mulan will continue to make character appearances even after Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is over. You’ll only be able to see Mira through the end of June however, so be sure to snap a photo of her while you can! You can check out all of the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month celebrations via DisneyParksBlog.
Mulan has taken over Walt Disney Presents at Disney’s Hollywood Studios with a limited time sneak peek of the film.
In The Walt Disney Theater, you can see a sneak peek scene and trailer for the film. For now, this is the closest we’ll come to seeing Mulan in an actual movie theater.
Get the popcorn ready as September 4th will be here before we know it! As we previously shared, the live-action Mulan film is set to premier on Disney+ for a fee.
Disney+ now has a landing page designated to Mulan stating the Disney+ exclusive starts September 4 with Premier Access for $29.99 before it’s available to all Disney+ subscribers.
The landing page also notes Mulan is exclusively available to Disney+ subscribers and can be streamed in stunning quality with UHD, HDR, and Dolby Audio. Even better, you can pay once for Mulan and stream and download as long as you have Disney+.
A new trailer has also launched on the landing page:
