CoCo Lee

Ferren Lee was born on 17 January 1975 in Hong Kong or Wuhan. She was born after her father's death due to illness, making her a posthumous child. She also had physical defects in her left leg, which affected her throughout her life and contributed to her later challenges. After her father's death, Lee's mother moved the family to Hong Kong to seek support from relatives. They faced difficult times there before immigrating to the USA when CoCo was 9 years old. She had two elder sisters, Carol and Nancy. Nancy would become Coco's manager early on. She was raised in Hong Kong and had a lot of pleasant memories there. Lee and her family moved to San Francisco when she was around 10. She attended Redding Elementary School, Presidio Middle School and Raoul Wallenberg Traditional High School there. Lee won the title of Miss Teen Chinatown San Francisco in 1991 at age 16, marking a significant step toward her later success in the entertainment industry.

Lee won a local singing contest twice at 17. The first time, she joined to pay for the damage she did to her mom's car. The second time, she entered it again just because it was so enjoyable. After graduating from high school in 1993, she entered a TVB competition in Hong Kong and was offered a recording contract. Lee attempted to juggle her singing career in Hong Kong with her pre-medical studies at the University of California, Irvine but eventually left after her first year to concentrate on her pop career. During an interview in 1997, Lee said she never intended to become a star. Her goal in life was to become a surgeon because her mother was a successful doctor, although completing all of her medical training might take another decade.