Actress Dies of Pneumonia: Barbie Hsu Was 48

Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu, best known for starring as Dong Shancai in the 2001 drama Meteor Garden, has died. Hsu, better known as “Da S,” or “Big S,” among fans, died of pneumonia after contracting influenza while on vacation with family in Japan, her sister Dee Hsu confirmed in a statement through an agent. Hsu was 48.

“Our whole family came to Japan for a trip, and my dearest and most kindhearted sister Barbie Hsu died of influenza-induced pneumonia and unfortunately left us,” Dee said, according to local media outlet the Taipei Times. “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 date of Hsu’s death hasn’t been confirmed at this time. The actress had a history of epilepsy and heart disease, and had previously hospitalized due to seizures.

Hsu began her career alongside her sister in the mid-‘90s when she was just 17 as part of the pop duo S.O.S., which later became ASOS. The group released their hit song “Ten-Minute Love” in 1994, and went on to release several albums, including their eighth and final album, Perverted Girls, in 2001.

As their music career was growing, and following a contractual dispute with their agency, the sisters shifted focus to hosting and later acting. Hsu landed her breakout role in the 2001 series Meteor Garden, a TV adaptation of the popular 1990s Japanese comic of the same name. In the series, she portrayed Dong Shancai, a middle-class teenager attending an elite private school who becomes entangled with the heirs of rich families. The series, which also featured the boy band F4, was dubbed in local languages in the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand, per the BBC.

Following news Hsu’s passing, her former co-star, F4 member Ken Chu, shared a black, empty screen as well as a group photo with the actress to Instagram. On Weibo, he wrote, “What a bolt from the blue.”

Following her breakout role in Meteor Garden, Hsu starred in TV dramas like Corner With Love and Summer Desire, as well as in films including Connected (2008), Hot Summer Days (2010), and Reign of Assassins (2010). Her final credit was in 2012’s Motorway, per her IMDb profile.

Hsu took a break from acting in 2012, but continued to appear in reality shows, with CNN reporting that she retired from the entertainment industry in 2022 after her 2021 divorce from Chinese businessman Wang Xiaofei. She married singer and DJ Koo Jun-yup the following year.

Hsu is survived by her husband, as well as her 10-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son she shared with Xiaofei.