Getty PicturesTaiwanese actress Barbie Hsu, who shot to fame for starring within the TV collection Meteor Backyard, has died from pneumonia, native media report. She was 48.
Hsu is among the largest names within the Mandarin-speaking world and Meteor Backyard made her a giant star in nations just like the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand after it was dubbed in native languages.
Information of her loss of life triggered an outpouring of grief on social media the place followers expressed their shock and paid tribute to Hsu for her affect on popular culture.
Her sister, Dee Hsu, confirmed her loss of life to Taiwan’s TVBS Information on Monday, after rumours of her loss of life swirled the day earlier than. She reportedly fell sick whereas on trip in Japan.
“Through the Lunar New Yr, our household got here to Japan for trip. My dearest sister Barbie has sadly left us after getting pneumonia, triggered by an influenza,” Dee mentioned in an announcement shared by her supervisor.
Hsu began in present enterprise at 17 as a part of a pop duo together with her sister Dee. They went on to turn out to be TV hosts, identified for his or her animated model and sense of humour.
Nevertheless it was Meteor Backyard, a TV adaptation of a Nineteen Nineties Japanese comedian e book of the identical title, that helped Hsu turn out to be a star exterior the Mandarin-speaking world.
Hsu performed Shancai, a poor pupil from a center class household who attends an elite personal college and finds herself entangled in a love net with the heirs of rich households.
Her 4 male co-stars in Meteor Backyard would later kind the Taiwanese boyband F4, which grew to become one of the crucial widespread Mandopop teams of the 2000s.
On Monday, F4 member Ken Chu posted a clean black picture on Instagram, in addition to a bunch photograph with Hsu.
“What a bolt from the blue,” he wrote on Weibo.
Getty PicturesMeteor Backyard captivated Asian audiences earlier than video streaming. Within the Philippines alone, an area broadcaster reportedly aired the whole collection eight occasions to fulfill fan demand. Bootleg CD copies of the collection have been additionally offered on roadside stalls.
Except for the collection itself, Meteor Backyard’s theme songs have been additionally translated to native languages and have become hits on radio and music video channels.
Twenty years since its debut, Meteor Backyard’s reputation has endured and remakes by means of the years have attracted new followers. Variations of the collection have additionally been produced in Japan, South Korea, mainland China, and India.
Hsu was the highest trending matter on Chinese language social media platform Weibo on Monday morning. Posts about influenza in Japan have been additionally trending.
“I am unable to consider it,” learn one remark – echoing a whole bunch of comparable sentiments.
“She is simply 48 years outdated… that is too sudden,” learn one other Weibo remark. “It is a little troublesome to just accept.”
Hsu has a historical past of epilepsy and coronary heart illness and had been hospitalised on earlier events because of seizures.
She leaves behind two youngsters together with her ex-husband, Chinese language businessman Wang Xiaofei, with whom she had an acrimonious cut up in 2021, after 10 years collectively.
She married her present husband, South Korean musician DJ Koo, in 2022. They beforehand dated within the Nineteen Nineties.
