[6][16] A protégée of Malcolm MacDonald, Britain's Commissioner-General to Southeast Asia, she worked as a teacher before moving to England in 1955 to study at London's Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art.

[22][23] Lee's first major acting role was the BBC's 1957 television production of the opera Madame Butterfly as Suzuki, although the actors' singing was dubbed by professionals.

[8] According to director Jeffrey Stone, the film was suppressed by the Hong Kong censors because of a scene in which Lee appeared partially nude.

Author Paul Meehan commented that stars Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were "ably assisted by the quirky portrayals of Freddie Jones and Barbara Yu Ling in supporting roles.

[35] Her final film appearance was a supporting role in 1997's Peggy Su!, a romantic comedy about a Chinese teenager (played by Pamela Oei) and her family set in 1960s Liverpool, England.