Christina Lee Look Ngan-kwan, former TVB director and wife of the late tycoon Harold Lee Hsiao-wo, has died. She was 98.

Look passed away peacefully at home on Saturday, according to an obituary notice issued on Sunday afternoon by her children Irene Lee Yun-lien, Anthony Lee Hsien-pin and Marie-Christine Lee.

There would be a private memorial followed by a private funeral, they added.

“The family wishes to thank everyone for their support and love during these difficult times,” the notice said.

Look took up her late husband’s shares in TVB, the city’s free-to-air broadcaster, and the position of non-executive director from 1981, a year after he died. She retired in 2012.

From left to right: Marcus Lee, Zachary Lee, Christina Lee Look (sitting), Irene Lee Yun-lien and Vivienne Poy.

Harold Lee co-founded the station with the late Sir Run Run Shaw in 1965. He was the son of Lee Hysan, who was one of the most well-known businessmen in the city in the first half the 20th Century.

Look was born in Hong Kong to a prestigious family on August 1, 1925. Her father was the head of Guangdong provincial taxation authority under the rule of the Nationalist government and a personal secretary to Soong Tse-ven, a prominent businessman and politician in China in the early 20th century.

Look married Harold Lee, the first chairman of TVB, in 1949. After his death in 1980, the chairmanship was succeeded by Shaw, another major private shareholder.

During her tenure as a non-executive director, Look, a flamboyant socialite known for her fashion, often served as a guest of honour and officiated the station’s anniversary programmes while wearing a cheongsam, also known as qipao, a traditional Chinese dress. Her appearance at a TVB anniversary show in 2017 was her last at the station.

Look made her last public appearance in November 2018. She was seen at the launch of Hysan Development’s new tower, Lee Garden Three, in Causeway Bay.

City leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said she was saddened by the news of Look’s death and extended her deepest condolences to her family.

“A successful person in the commercial sector, Mrs Lee participated in the management of a major local TV station for a long period of time and was held in high regard in the sector,” she said. “She was committed to philanthropic causes. She helped raise funds for social welfare organisations and also gave staunch support for the medical development of Hong Kong with donations made to a local university’s faculty of medicine, benefiting society at large.”

A TVB spokesman said Look had devoted her time and energy to community welfare, caring for the disadvantaged and contributing to society. The board of directors was deeply saddened by her death and extended its deepest condolences to the family, he said.

Look is survived by a son and two daughters. Her second daughter, Irene Lee, is the chairwoman of Hysan Development, the biggest landlord in Hong Kong’s shopping heart of Causeway Bay, while Anthony Lee serves as non-executive director of the company and of TVB. Her eldest daughter died at a young age.