Over 70 years in the acting profession, Lee has played the roles of mother, mother-in-law and grandmother of many famous Chinese actors and actresses.
Lee was also the god-mother of many celebrities, for example Chow Yun-fat, Carol Cheng, Cherie Chung, Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung etc.
[1] In 1974, Lee and Tam Ping-man, an actor and on-screen partner, co-founded a production company.
[2][1] Lee had been forced to retire from acting in 2011 due to Alzheimer's disease, her condition deteriorated in December 2020.
9 days before her 89th birthday, Lee fainted while having dinner, and was pronounced dead en route to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong.