The Taiwanese star Barbie Hsu by Meteor Garden Fame dies

The Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu, who was best known for having played in the successful television series Meteor Garden, died of pneumonia at the age of 48, according to local media.

One of the largest stars in the mandarin language world, HSU has become a familiar face even in the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand after the Meteor garden was nicknamed in local languages.

“I cannot believe it,” read a comment on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, echoing the feelings of millions of shocked fans who paid tribute.

It is believed that she fell ill during the visit of Japan. His sister, Dee HSU, confirmed his death at TVBS News in Taiwan on Monday.

“During the new lunar year, our family came to Japan for a vacation. My dearest sister Barbie unfortunately left us after obtaining pneumonia, triggered by the flu”, Dee HSU said in a press release shared by his manager.

HSU, who had history of epilepsy and heart disease, was hospitalized previously due to crises.

She leaves her husband behind her, the South Korean singer Dj Koo, and two children from a previous marriage.

She and her ex-husband, Chinese businessman Wang Xiaofei, got married for 10 years before an acrimonious divorce in 2021.

HSU began his career at 17, as part of a pop duo with his sister Dee. They have become famous as television hosts, known for their animated style and their sense of humor.

But it was Meteor Garden, a television adaptation of a Japanese comic strip from the 1990s of the same name, which transformed HSU into a star whose fame extended beyond Chinese entertainment.

In the drama, HSU played Shancai, a teenager from a middle -class family who frequents a private elite school and finds himself tangled in a web of love with the heirs of rich families.

Its four male co-stars in Meteor Garden would later form the Taiwanese Boyband F4, one of the most popular Mandopopopopopops in the 2000s.

Monday, the F4 member, Ken Chu, shared a black and empty screen as well as a group photo with HSU on Instagram. Then on Weibo, he wrote: “What a bolt of blue.”

After Meteor Garden, Hsu played in more than a dozen television and films, including popular romantic dramas as a corner with love and the desire for summer.

She took a brea to play in 2012, but continued to appear in reality shows.

Aya Liu, a longtime host and friend of the HSU sisters, wrote on Weibo that she had met Hsu during a rally last month, where they had promised to meet more often.

“I did not think that would be our last gathering,” wrote Liu. “Rest in peace, the most beautiful queen.”

HSU was the subject of the first trend on Weibo on Monday. “She was only 48 years old … It’s too sudden. It’s a bit difficult to accept,” read a comment.

The articles on flu in Japan were also trendy when fans were trying to understand how she had fallen ill.

When Meteor Garden was broadcast in the 2000s, at a time when Taiwanese shows and music dominated pop culture in the region, taking Cinderella Modern High School was a success.

Young women were inspired by Hsu’s Shancai fashion and passed out on F4. The hairstyles of distected by the male tracks were glued on walls in hairdressing salons, while the young men of Southeast Asia and East Asia tried to imitate the look .

In the Philippines, a local broadcaster would have broadcast the whole series eight times to meet the demand of fans. Bootleg’s copies of the series have also been sold on the stands by the road.

Meteor Garden’s theme songs were published in other languages, quickly becoming success on radio and television.

More than 20 years later, the popularity of the show lasted even if the remakes attracted new fans. He inspired versions in Japan, South Korea, China and India.

On social networks, tributes to HSU have flocked from the whole region, Chinese users on Weibo, at Southeast Asian fans on X, to Meta’s sons, which is particularly popular in Taiwan.

“Big S has always been part of my youth,” wrote a fan on the sons, referring to HSU by his nickname.

An X user wrote: “Meteor Garden raised an entire generation of Asians. Thank you Barbie Hsu for giving life to Shancai.”