Barbie Hsu, a Taiwanese actress who starred in the popular TV drama “Meteor Garden” that once swept Asia, died after contracting pneumonia triggered by the flu. She was 48.
Hsu, better known as “Da S” which means “Big S,” caught the flu when she visited Japan with her family during the Lunar New Year, according to her younger sister, Dee Hsu, also a famed TV host. Dee Hsu said the pneumonia was a flu complication.
“I am grateful that in this lifetime I was able to be her sister, taking care of each other and being companions. I will forever be thankful for her and miss her!” Dee Hsu said in a statement on Monday, without specifying where and when her sister died.
Shang Hongtao/VCG via Getty Images
The news about Barbie Hsu’s sudden death shocked audiences in Taiwan and China, where many had watched her shows since her early career. In China, news of her death was trending on the social media platform Weibo.
“It feels like someone you’re so familiar with is suddenly gone,” wrote one Weibo user. “This is unbelievable. Her two children, poor kids. May she rest in peace.”
Hsu broke into the industry when as a teenager she formed a pop music group called S.O.S. with her sister Dee Hsu, popularly known as “Xiao S” or “Small S.” The pair later switched to hosting TV shows and won many young fans.
In 2001, Meteor Garden beamed Barbie Hsu’s name into many households in Asia.
In the drama, Hsu played a teen from a middle-class family who attends an elite private school, according to the BBC. Her four male co-stars in Meteor Garden would later form the Taiwanese boyband F4, one of the most popular Mandopop groups of the 2000s.
On Monday, F4 member Ken Chu shared a black, empty screen as well as a group photo with Hsu on Instagram. “What a bolt from the blue,” he wrote on Weibo.
After gaining widespread popularity, she continued to advance her entertainment career through other TV dramas, movies and talk shows.
In recent years, her personal life also made it into the news, in particular her high-profile divorce from Chinese businessman Wang Xiaofei. Her fallout with Wang, their heated exchanges on social media following their divorce in 2021, and their legal battles often made headlines.
She later married Korean musician Koo Jun-yup, also known as “DJ Koo.”
Hsu was passionate about defending animal rights and collaborated with groups including PETA.
“Barbie was one of the first and biggest stars to lend her support to PETA,” read a statement by the organization’s senior vice president, Jason Baker. “She spoke up countless times for animals, directly urging brands to stop selling fur.”
Fans in Taiwan, the Philippines and elsewhere also paid tribute to her on social media.
Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming, who starred with Hsu in another Taiwanese drama, said he was “in shock and deep grief” over her death.
“I’ve heard that truly brilliant souls are never dimmed by time — they remain vibrant, like bubbles shining in the sun,” Huang said on Weibo.
Stacy Hsu, a Taiwanese celebrity, posted on Facebook that Hsu’s “beauty and intelligence will forever remain in our hearts.”
Hsu is survived by Koo and two children she shares with Wang.
Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.
