TAIWANESE ACTRESS BARBIE HSU STAR OF METEOR GARDEN DIES OF PNEUMONIA AT 48

TAIPEI, Feb 3 (Bernama-CNA) -- Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu has died of pneumonia at the age of 48 while on a trip to Japan, where she contracted influenza during the Lunar New Year holiday, her sister confirmed Monday through an agent, Central News Agency (CNA) reported.

"Our whole family came to Japan for a trip, and my dearest and most kind-hearted sister Barbie Hsu died of influenza-induced pneumonia and unfortunately left us," Hsu's sister and talk show hostess Dee Hsu said through her agent.

"I was grateful to be her sister in this life and that we got to care for and spend time with each other. I will always be grateful to her and miss her!"

The exact date of her death has not yet been confirmed.

Rumours of Barbie Hsu's passing began circulating on Sunday after a Facebook fan page dedicated to travel and food in Japan posted, "A major star from Taiwan has passed away. An official statement will follow. 48 years old and contracted the flu in Japan."

Barbie Hsu is survived by her South Korean husband, singer and DJ Koo Jun-yup, as well as her 10-year-old daughter and eight-year-old son, whom she shared with her ex-husband and Chinese businessman Wang Xiaofei.

She previously revealed during an interview that she had a history of mitral valve prolapse and epilepsy, and that she nearly died from a seizure during the birth of her son.

Barbie Hsu made her debut in 1994 as a singer alongside her sister Dee under the name S.O.S., later ASOS due to contractual issues. They found success with the song "Ten Minutes of Love" and released their eighth and final album, "Perverted Girls", in 2001.

Barbie Hsu began hosting television programmes in 1995 and acting in TV series in 1998, cementing her stardom as an actress in 2001 with the lead role of Shan Cai in the Taiwanese drama "Meteor Garden".

The series, which also featured the boy band F4, earned her a nomination for Best Actress in a TV Series at the Golden Bell Awards and is widely credited with ushering in the golden age of Taiwanese dramas in the 2000s.

During her acting career, Barbie Hsu starred in at least 11 TV series-- including "Corner with Love" and "Summer's Desire" and appeared in 13 films, including "Silk", alongside Chang Chen and Yôsuke Eguchi, and Connected.

Off-screen, Barbie Hsu was a well-known celebrity in Asia. She married Chinese entrepreneur Wang Xiaofei in 2010 and had a daughter and a son in 2014 and 2016, before their divorce in 2021.

In 2022, she surprised the public by announcing her marriage to Koo Jun-yup, with whom she had shared a brief romance in the late 1990s before his management advised them to part ways.

This Saturday would have marked their third wedding anniversary.

-- BERNAMA-CNA