Taiwanese actress Barbie HSU dies of influenza at 48

HISTORY: Taiwanese actor Barbie HSU, who rose to fame over East Asia as the romantic lead in Soap Opera ‘Meteor Garden in 2001, has died of influenza aged 48 while on a family holiday in Japan.

Her sister Dee HSU broke the news on Monday and it became the most sought after topic about China’s Weibo-microblogging service.

The sisters first found fame with their pop group SOS

Barbie HSU became a household name from playing the shacai in the TV drama ‘Meteor Garden’ – an adaptation of Japanese manga ‘boys over flowers’.

HSU’s character was a poor, teenage girl who goes to a school for wealthy students – and meets four spoiled, arrogant boys known as ‘F4’.

Beijing had banned “Meteor Garden” in 2002 and described the Taiwan-made soap as ‘electronic heroin’ for young people.

The deceased HSU had been married to Korean rapper Koo Jun-Yup, also known as ‘DJ Koo’, since 2022.

She left two children from a previous marriage to Chinese entrepreneur Wang Xiaofei.