Barbie Hsu: Meteor Garden Taiwanese TV star dies from pneumonia 徐熙媛

The death of Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu at 48 has seen a wave of grief spread through her fans. The TV show Meteor Garden made her famous not just in Taiwan but in the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand in dubbed versions.

Her sister, Dee Hsu, confirmed her death to Taiwan's TVBS News on Monday.

"During the Lunar New Year, our family came to Japan for vacation. My dearest sister Barbie has unfortunately left us after getting pneumonia, triggered by an influenza," Dee said in a statement shared by her manager.

Barbie started as part of a pop duo with Dee when she was 17, called S.O.S. They had a hit song Ten-Minute Love and went on to become TV hosts, known for their animated style and sense of humour.

But it was Meteor Garden, a TV adaptation of a 1990s Japanese comic book of the same name in 2001, that helped Hsu become a star outside the Mandarin-speaking world.

Hsu was Shancai, a poor student from a middle class family who attends an elite private school and finds herself entangled in a love web with the heirs of wealthy families. Her four male co-stars in Meteor Garden would later form the Taiwanese boyband F4, which became one of the most popular Mandopop groups of the 2000s.

She would later appear in the series Mars but withdrew from acting soon after her first marriage in 2011. However, she still appeared in variety shows and adverts.

On Monday, F4 member Ken Chu posted a blank black image on Instagram, as well as a group photo with Hsu. "What a bolt from the blue," he wrote on Weibo.

Meteor Garden captivated Asian audiences before video streaming. In the Philippines alone, a local broadcaster is said to aired the entire series eight times to satisfy fan demand. Bootleg CD copies of the series were also sold on roadside stalls.

Aside from the series itself, Meteor Garden's theme songs were also translated to local languages and became hits on radio and music video channels.

Two decades since its debut, Meteor Garden's popularity has endured and remakes through the years have attracted new fans. Versions of the series have also been produced in Japan, South Korea, mainland China, and India.

Hsu had two children with her ex-husband, Chinese entrepreneur Wang Xiaofei, to whom she was married from 2010 to 2021. They are said to have split due to infidelity and political differences over Taiwan.

After her divorce, Hsu and singer Koo Jun-yup Koo, a former boyfriend, rekindled their relationship and married in 2022.

Hsu was known to suffered from epilepsy and heart disease and had been previously hospitalised after experiencing seizures