Barbie Hsu

In this Taiwanese name, the surname is Hsu.

Shi-yuan "Barbie" Hsu^[1] (Chinese: 徐熙媛; pinyin: Xú Xīyuán; 6 October 1976 – 2 February 2025), also known by her stage name Big S (大S; Dà S),^[2] was a Taiwanese actress, singer, and television host.^[3] She debuted alongside her younger sister Dee Hsu (Little S) in 1994 as part of the musical duo S.O.S (later A.S.O.S), which transitioned to television hosting beginning in 1996. The sisters co-hosted variety shows such as Guess (1996–2000) and 100% Entertainment (1998–2005) before Barbie shifted her focus to acting.

Barbie Hsu
徐熙媛
Hsu in 2010
Born	(1976-10-06)6 October 1976 Taipei, Taiwan
Died	2 February 2025(2025-02-02) (aged 48) Tokyo, Japan
Resting place	Chin Pao San Cemetery, New Taipei City
Other names	Tiger Hsu
Alma mater	Taipei Hwa Kang Arts School
Occupations	Actress singer television host
Years active	1994–2025
Agent(s)	Famous Records (c. 1991–1997) Golden Star Entertainment (c. 1997–2010) Taiping Entertainment (2010–2025)
Notable work	Meteor Garden
Spouses	Wang Xiaofei ​ ​ (m. 2011; div. 2021)​ Koo Jun-yup ​ (m. 2022)​
Children	2
Relatives	Dee Hsu (sister)
Awards	Golden Lotus Award for Best Actress for Croczilla
Musical career
Also known as	Big S (大S; Da S) Barbie Shu
Genres	Mandopop
Labels	Pony Canyon (1994–1997) Skyhigh Entertainment (2001–2002)
Formerly of	A.S.O.S.

As an actor, Hsu rose to pan-Asian fame with her leading role in the television drama Meteor Garden (2001–2002), and subsequently starred in dramas such as Mars (2004), Corner with Love (2007), Summer's Desire (2010), as well as films Connected (2008) and Reign of Assassins (2010). After her first marriage in 2010, she largely stepped back from her career.

Hsu ranked 33rd on the Forbes China Celebrity 100 in 2010,^[4] 16th in 2011,^[5] and 45th in 2012.^[6]

Early life

Hsu was born on 6 October 1976 to Hsu Chien and “May" Huang Chun-mei in Taipei as the second child of three sisters.^[7][8][9] She had an elder sister, Hsu Shi-hsien, and a younger sister, Dee Hsu.^[10]

Hsu's paternal family owned a jeweler's shop in Taipei, founded by her paternal grandfather, a waishengren from Tancheng County, Shandong, for over 60 years until its closure in 2018.^[11][12] When she was young, her mother, a benshengren originally working as a waitress at the restaurant next to the Hsus' shop before marriage, separated from Hsu's father, the only son with seven elder sisters, due to pressure from his family to bear a son, along with his infidelity, domestic abuse, alcoholism and gambling.^[13] Her mother worked as a real estate broker to support Hsu and her two sisters while her father fled due to his gambling debt when she was 14, though he later returned.^[14] Her parents formally divorced in late 2008, as part of an agreement in which Barbie and Dee settled their father’s gambling debt one last time in exchange for his signature.^[15] Their mother acted as a spokesperson and partial manager throughout their career, while their father, who maintained a good relationship with his daughters after he had given up drinking, died from liver cancer in 2012 at the age of 59.^[16]

In 1994, Barbie and Dee enrolled at the Taipei Hwa Kang Arts School, after Barbie had spent a year at the National Kuo Kuang Academy of Arts, whose military-style discipline prompted her to drop out. At Hwa Kang, the sisters befriended classmates Pace Wu, Aya Liu, and three others, forming a close-knit group known as the “Seven Fairies.”^[17] After four of them entered the entertainment industry, they grew close to three fellow artists—Christine Fan, Mavis Fan, and Makiyo Kawashima—who were later also widely associated with the name “Seven Fairies.”^[18]

Career

Barbie Hsu on Career Beginnings

I have seven aunts, and my dad was the only son. When my grandfather was alive, I was a fearless little girl—he was my rock, and I loved him dearly. After he passed, I realized it was my turn to take care of the family. I was lucky to land a commercial acting job at 14, which allowed me to support myself and my loved ones. That’s how I became independent. Now that my father is gone, my mom and the three of us sisters take care of one another.

Barbie Hsu, Weibo (excerpt), Nov. 3, 2012

At age 11, Hsu made her first film appearance as an extra in The Sea Plan (1987), directed by Heinrich Wang. At 14, she began working as a commercial actor to help support her family,^[19] including appearing in a beverage commercial with Takeshi Kaneshiro at 17, before attending the Taipei Hwa Kang Arts School. Meanwhile, at 15, when Barbie accompanied her sister Dee to an audition after Dee had been invited for a commercial with singer Chou Chuan-huing, they were scouted by Chou’s label, Famous Records (神采唱片), which signed Barbie before signing Dee as well. Barbie was featured on the variety show Comedian Bump Earth (笑星撞地球) with Chou as his "fan,"^[20] while the sisters appeared in the music video for Chou's song "Can't Let You Go" (捨不得你走) in 1991.^[21] However, before their debut as a pop duo, contractual disputes arose, as the sisters’ playful personalities clashed with Famous Records founder Chen Kuo-Chin's vision of a more "pure and innocent" image for them. As a result, their first album, Occupy Youth (佔領年輕), was shelved for two years.^[22] When it was released in 1994, Chen initially named the duo Do Bi Do Wa (嘟比嘟哇) after one of their songs. However, during their first recording of a variety show, the host mistakenly assumed that one sister was named Do Bi and the other Do Wa. Disliking the name, Hsu sought help from the album’s producer, Bing Wang, who subsequently renamed them S.O.S. (Sisters of Shiu), which also led to their respective stage names, Big S and Little S.^[23][24]

The duo gained popularity in 1995 with their bubblegum pop song "Ten-Minute Love" (十分鐘的戀愛) from their second album Best of S.O.S., but their following albums received little notice. In 1995, they attempted to break into the Japanese market with the release of two albums: Occupy Youth, their Taiwanese debut album, was released in Japan on August 19, followed by a best-of compilation on December 16, which featured Japanese versions of songs from their first three Taiwanese albums and four additional Japanese tracks. They also appeared on Fuji TV’s late-night variety show Asia N Beat (アジアNビート).^[25]

Barbie Hsu on Career Path

“Don’t put all the eggs in one basket.” That was what I told my younger sister when we were facing some of the toughest moments in our family and career. Back then, we were inseparable. Later, she went into hosting, and I turned to acting. No matter what, one of us had to make it — to support the family. Now we both have families of our own, and we’re both able to support the family. I’m grateful that life gave us the courage to fight a good fight. Don’t be afraid to make a choice.

Barbie Hsu, Weibo, Mar. 4, 2013

In 1996, with their music career in decline, they opened a clothing store and considered leaving the industry. However, on the Mid-Autumn festival of that year, they were approached by TV producer and manager Wang Wei-Zhong, known as Taiwan’s "Godfather of Variety Shows," who offered them hosting gigs.^[26][27] After becoming the first generation of Guess hosts and then terminating their contract with Chen, whose agency banned them from releasing albums under their original group name, they rebranded as A.S.O.S. [zh] (Adult Sisters of Shiu^[27]) and signed with Wang's Golden Star Entertainment.^[28] Following this, the duo shifted their career focus from singing to hosting. They co-hosted Golden Star-produced variety show Guess (1996–2000) with Lung Shao-hua and then Jacky Wu, respectively; entertainment news program 100% Entertainment (1998–2005);^[29] variety show Weekend Three Precious Fun (週末三寶Fun) (2001) with Harlem Yu;^[30] and cooking show Gourmet Secrets of the Stars  [zh] (2007–2008).^[31][32] The duo ended their management partnership with Wang Wei-Zhong and established their own studios in 2010, after which Barbie primarily focused on acting in Hong Kong and mainland China, while Dee continued hosting in Taiwan.^[33]

As hosts, the duo became known for their casual, intimate, and authentic style, underpinned by a sharp sense of humor, with Barbie often playing the straight man while Dee played the comic. After the initial success of Guess, they revitalized not only their career but also GTV with the sassy and lively 100% Entertainment, where they blurred the boundaries between their private and public lives through (over-)sharing family stories—some of the most dramatic unfolded live on the show^[34]—and thus creating reality television avant la lettre in the Chinese-speaking world. Episodes of 100% Entertainment from their tenure found a new audience on social media starting in 2019, when GTV re-aired an edited version.

Musically, after leaving Famous Records in 1997, they mainly focused on hosting and did not release an album for four years, until Pervert Girls (變態少女) in 2001, their first album as A.S.O.S. but also their last as a group. They signed a one-year record deal with a relatively small label Skyhigh Entertainment in exchange for the creative carte blanche over the album, where Barbie and Dee wrote all the compositions and lyrics. Initially produced by Sandee Chan before she was replaced by Mavis Fan, the album was a gothic fantasia that was overlooked upon release, with one song, "Love You to Death" (愛你愛到死), censored in mainland China, but was later reassessed for its avant-garde experimentation and revived on social media.^[35] In 2010, Barbie, Dee, and Mavis Fan debuted Shorty Tall (小小大), a group they had contemplated forming for years, but performed only twice at the Kangsi Concert in Beijing and Shenyang that same year.^[36] Barbie, Dee, Mavis and Aya Liu, who sometimes called themselves the Four Sisters (四姐妹) and performed together, released two songs, "Girls' Party" (姐妹們的聚會) in 2001 and "Girls Journey" (姐妹們的旅行) in 2019, both celebrating their friendship.^[37] Outside of her group activities, Hsu sporadically released songs, such as the duet "Let Me Love You" (讓我愛你) with Vic Chou, the single "Diamond" (鑽石) with her own lyrics, and the duet "Sweetheart" (心肝寶貝) with Richie Jen, which served as the theme songs for the TV dramas Mars (2004), Summer's Desire (2010) and the film Adventure of the King (2010), respectively. She appeared in music videos, such as Shin's “Before the Dawn” (黎明之前), Show Lo's “Self-Hypnosis” (自我催眠) and “Waist Support” (撐腰). She also wrote lyrics for other singers such as Mavis Fan, Josie Ho, and Dee. In 2015, Barbie and Dee reunited for their breakout song, “Ten-Minute Love,” at the live house Legacy Taipei during Dee’s first solo concert.^[38]

Barbie Hsu on Shan Cai

Yes, I admit it. Back when we were filming and Shan Cai started flip-flopping, I went to Director Tsai and said, “Shan Cai is the worst! I can’t stand her — how am I supposed to play this?” The director spent forever trying to talk me down: “She’s young, she doesn’t understand love yet… she’s just a regular girl suddenly being chased by two super-hot guys — of course she’s confused…” Honestly? Halfway through filming, I really didn’t like Shan Cai anymore. But I still did my best to make sure the audience wouldn’t hate her too much. Audiences back then were pretty forgiving — and they let Shan Cai off the hook. Who knew the drama would get re-aired decades later and suddenly she’s getting called out left and right! I admit it. Shan Cai was kind of a pick-me girl… but I really, really tried to make her likable. That’s that.

Barbie Hsu, Weibo, Apr. 24, 2018

As an actor, Hsu rose to pan-Asian fame with her leading role of Shan Cai in Meteor Garden (2001) along with boy group F4.^[2] Besides the Chinese-speaking world, the show brought her fame in South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore,^[39] with many countries producing remakes in the following years, including Japan's Boys Over Flowers (2005), South Korea's Boys Over Flowers (2009), United States's Boys Before Friends (2013), and India's Kaisi Yeh Yaariaan (2014–).^[40] The show earned her a nomination for the Best Actress at the 36th Golden Bell Awards and is credited with ushering in the idol drama genre and the golden era of Taiwanese TV shows.^[41][42] After a sequel Meteor Garden II (2002), Hsu went on to star in TV dramas such as Eternity: A Chinese Ghost Story (2003), Mars (2004), where she reunited with F4 member Vic Chou, Corner with Love (2007), and Summer's Desire (2010), becoming known as the first "Queen of Idol Dramas."^[43]

Hsu transitioned into films later in her career but found less success compared to television.^[44][45] Her first starring role in a feature film came with the Chinese horror film The Ghost Inside (2005), followed by the Taiwanese films Silk (2006) and My So-Called Love (2008). She broke into Hong Kong film industry with Connected (2008), a remake of the Hollywood thriller Cellular (2004), for which she received a nomination for the Best Actress at the 28th Hong Kong Film Awards.^[46] However, for her three films in one year, Future X-Cops (2010), Reign of Assassins (2010), and Adventure of the King (2010), Hsu received the Most Disappointing Actress at the 2nd Golden Broom Awards. The reasoning given was: “Hsu’s acting is confusing, with her laughing resembling crying and crying resembling laughing. Her performance feels too modern, overly exaggerated, and lacks emotional depth.”^[47] For her performance in the monster film Croczilla (2012), she received the only acting award of her career, the Golden Lotus Award for Best Actress at the 4th Macau International Movie Festival, without prior knowledge of the nomination or an invitation to the ceremony.^[48] Despite criticism regarding her performances and perceived lack of bankability as a movie star, retrospective evaluations of her work improved after she withdrew from acting, recognizing her as one of the few actresses whose film career spanned Greater China, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China.

Mishap

我不在的時候
你們怎麼說我
說我的好
還是我的壞
我不在的時候
你們怎麼想我
想我的美
還是我的醜
我不在的時候
你們怎麼模仿我
把翅膀變成我的眼睛
還是用筆畫出一個我

When I’m not there,
what do you say of me?
Do you speak of my goodness,
or of my badness?
When I’m not there,
what do you think of me?
Do you recall my beauty,
or that I am ugly?
When I’m not there,
how do you mimic me?
Do your wings become my eyes,
or your pen sketch out a me?

— Barbie Hsu, from the poem collection Penny Dreadful (2005)

In addition to acting, Hsu published a beauty guide Beauty Queen (美容大王) in 2004, followed by a sequel in 2007. Both books became bestsellers across the Chinese-speaking world and played a major role in popularizing brands such as Kiehl’s and SK-II in China, though some of the beauty ideals and techniques they introduced were subject to re-evaluation in later years. Among the many beauty tips she popularized—both in her books and beyond—were the "red wine facial mask" and the use of the hair-loss treatment Rogaine to thicken eyebrows.^[49][50] She co-wrote SOS Chao Meng Qing Chun (SOS超猛青春; 1996) and SOS Tokyo Shopping Map (SOS東京拚裝大地圖; 1998) with Dee, the former about their teenage years and the latter a Japanese fashion and travel guide. She also published Penny Dreadful (蝴蝶飛了; 2005), a collection of poems,^[51] and Lao Niang Jia Dao (老娘駕到; 2015), a memoir about motherhood for her first child.^[52]

After marrying Chinese entrepreneur Wang Xiaofei in late 2010, Hsu decided to step back from her career to focus on family life, but accepted a role in My Kingdom (2011) at Wang’s encouragement, as its director Gao Xiaosong was his friend. The film underperformed at the box office, coinciding with Gao's DUI scandal, which drew attention as he became the first public figure in China to be sentenced for drunk driving following the criminalization of the offense that year.^[53][54] After the Hong Kong film Motorway (2012), in which she received leading female credit despite having a minor role,^[55] Hsu stepped away from acting and substantially scaled back her career. In the years following the birth of her first child, she made several attempts at returning to acting, only to be thwarted by pregnancy, health issues, and the declining opportunities for middle-aged actresses.^[56][57][58] Her last attempt at acting was a role she volunteered for to support Angie Chai, the producer of Meteor Garden, when Chai’s Taiwanese adaptation of the K-drama Our Blues (2022) reportedly fell through in 2024.^[59]

Hsu continued to appear in variety shows and advertisements. From 2011 to 2012, and for a short period in 2015,^[60] she served as a stand-in host for Dee during the latter's maternity leave and injury leave, respectively, on the variety-comedy talk show Kangsi Coming, where Barbie also frequently appeared as a guest over the years.^[61] Since 2017, Hsu had collaborated with the Italian brand C&C Gioielli to design and co-brand a jewelry line.^[62] In 2018, she participated in her final film, reprising her role of Elastigirl as a voice actress in Taiwan's dubbed version of the Pixar animated film Incredibles 2.^[63] That same year, she hosted Chinese variety show Miss Beauty (Season 1) (Beauty小姐) and participated in the marriage reality show Happiness Trio (Season 1) (幸福三重奏) with her then husband Wang Xiaofei.^[64] In 2019, she participated in the Chinese reality dating series Dream Space (Season 2) (戀夢空間) as a commentator and in the travelogue series We Are Real Friends (我們是真正的朋友) with Dee, Mavis Fan and Aya Liu.^[65][66] In 2020, she participated in the Chinese documentary show After Becoming Mother (Season 2) (成為媽媽後).^[67] She co-produced the web show Dee's Talk [zh] (2021–2022) hosted by Dee, which was nominated for the Golden Bell Award for Best Variety Show.^[68]

Personal life

Relationships

Barbie Hsu on Relationship

I love with passion and intensity, but I end things with absolute finality. No matter how painful it is, I face my life and relationships with reason […] I never allow myself to look back or regret. I have to choose what is right, not what is comfortable.

Barbie Hsu, A Date with Luyu, 2010

Hsu’s first love began in 1994 with a senior who was two years ahead of her at the Taipei Hwa Kang Arts School and lasted for three years until her graduation in 1997.^[69] She then dated Blackie Chen, after which they remained close friends.^[70][71] From late 1998 to 2000, she dated South Korean singer and Clon member Koo Jun-yup, of whom she was a fan, after being introduced by singer Yuki Hsu (sometimes misreported as Tarcy Su^[72]) at a concert after-party.^[73] They broke up at the height of Clon’s popularity due to the duo's agency enforcing a “dating ban,” which also led to Clon abruptly canceling an appearance on ASOS’s show 100% Entertainment.^[74][75][76] Hsu dated actor Lan Cheng-lung from 2001 to 2005,^[77][78] followed by a two-year relationship with actor Vic Chou, who had been her godbrother after meeting on set of Meteor Garden, until early 2008.^[79][70][80] In 2009, following her second collaboration with Hong Kong actor Louis Koo, reports surfaced about a secret relationship between the two, which both parties denied^[81][82]; however, the following year, she hinted at an on-set infatuation during an appearance on Kangsi Coming.^[83]

In 2010, while filming Croczilla, Hsu suffered from radial nerve inflammation and was introduced to an acupuncturist in Beijing by Ady An, who subsequently invited her to two parties at LAN Club, where Hsu met the club’s owner, Wang Xiaofei, the son of Zhang Lan, founder of the South Beauty restaurant group, on both occasions. The two fell in love at first sight, and after their second meeting on An’s birthday, Hsu invited Wang to her own birthday party in Taipei.^[84][85] After meeting a total of four times, Wang confessed his love by proposing to Hsu in Beijing, as he explained in his autobiography, Born in 1981 (2019):

There is an old American movie called Waterloo Bridge that many have seen. The male and female protagonists decide to get married the third time they meet because the man is about to go to the front lines, and both of them want to establish a relationship as soon as possible to avoid losing each other in the future. However, due to various unfortunate circumstances, they ultimately do not get married. It’s a tragedy. Mentioning this movie is not to say that my relationship with her is the same, but when it comes to proposing on the fifth meeting, I really understand the male protagonist’s feelings. My wife and I were living far apart—one in Beijing, the other in Taipei—separated by thousands of miles. I couldn’t help but feel that if I didn’t seize the moment and hold onto her then, I might miss out on being with her forever.^[86]

After an expeditious engagement ceremony, where they bought Tiffany engagement rings at Wangfujing and sharing mutton hotpot with friends at Houhai, they announced their engagement on October 29, 2010, one day after Zhang Yuqi had announced her break-up with Wang "some time ago." Hsu and Wang registered their marriage on November 16, 2010 in Beijing. Their wedding rings were designed by Wang with the help of jewelry designer Wan Baobao, granddaughter of Wan Li.^[87] Although Hsu preferred to treat the engagement ceremony as their wedding, a formal banquet was held at the request of Wang’s family on 22 March 2011 in Sanya, Hainan on 22 March 2011,^[88] followed by a week-long honeymoon in Bhutan.^[89] Just four days before their wedding, Hsu underwent a secret surgery following a miscarriage, amid rumors of a pregnancy that she publicly denied at the time. The miscarriage prompted her to keep the highly anticipated, star-studded event private from the media—a decision that led to a public relations crisis,^[90] as hundreds of reporters stationed outside the venue were unaware of the reason until she disclosed it in 2024.^[91][92]

Hsu’s "flash marriage" left a surprisingly long-lasting legacy in the Chinese media landscape. In November 2010, the intense discussions of her marriage in the "Kangsi Coming Group" on Douban led to a splinter group, the "Gossip Coming Group," specifically centered on the event. Over time, the latter grew into one of the most active and chaotic forums on the Chinese Internet until the government ban in 2022.^[93] Zhang Lan, Wang's mother, claimed that the wedding was sponsored by Wanda Group, prompting Wang Sicong, son of Wanda's founder, to publicly refute her claims and rise to prominence as a media personality over the following decade, during which he often mocked Hsu and Wang, until he was banned on Weibo for his criticism of the Chinese government's COVID policy.^[94] Charles Zhang, CEO of Sohu and a guest at the wedding, live-blogged the private event without permission on Sohu Weibo in an effort to drive traffic during the microblogging turf war, sparking a feud with the couple that lasted until his reconciliation with Wang in 2015. His unauthorized live postings also damaged Hsu’s relationship with the Taiwanese media, who viewed the exclusive content given to a mainland Chinese platform as a form of unequal treatment. The tension persisted until about half a year later, when Taiwanese reporters received a Mid-Autumn Festival gift from Hsu’s mother—a Parker pen, accompanied by a note. The gesture symbolized a wish to "draw a line under the past," a reference to the Chinese idiom 一筆勾銷 (yī bǐ gōu xiāo), literally meaning "to write off in one stroke.”^[95] After Zhang Lan’s Douyin account was banned in 2025 following Hsu’s death for spreading misinformation about her, Charles invited her to Sohu’s livestreaming platform in a new round of the livestreaming turf war.^[96]

After Hsu married Wang, she ended her 13 years of vegetarianism, which she had adopted in hopes of one of her pet dogs recovering from an illness, primarily under pressure from Wang and his mother Zhang Lan, who believed that vegetarianism was detrimental to fertility, despite Hsu's elder sister is also a vegetarian and mother.^[32] Hsu resided briefly in Beijing with Wang before returning to Taipei; for most of their marriage, Wang commuted between Beijing and Taipei, with Hsu’s refusal to relocate to Beijing being a major point of contention between them.^[97][98] They had two children: a daughter born in April 2014 and a son born in May 2016, both born and raised in Taipei.^[99] One month into her first pregnancy—short of the three-month mark traditionally observed in Taiwan before announcing a pregnancy—Hsu revealed the news to the media as an effort to divert attention from the Top Pot Bakery scandal involving Dee’s family.^[100] In 2018, Hsu underwent surgery following her second miscarriage, eight days before she began filming the marriage reality show Happiness Trio (Season 1) with Wang.^[101][92]

Hsu and Wang’s marriage had been beset by rumors of Wang’s infidelity and accounts of his volatile temper from the outset. On June 27, 2010, Wang’s first birthday after their marriage, he had an outburst during a birthday party organized by the Hsu family in Taipei, reportedly because the restaurant had been a place Hsu frequented with her ex-boyfriend, Vic Chou.^[102] In June 2011, Chinese model Elin Lü claimed she was in a relationship with Wang at the time he announced his engagement to Hsu.^[103] In March 2015, following a Hong Kong court order obtained by CVC—which had acquired an 83% stake in South Beauty in 2014—freezing the personal assets of Zhang Lan and her two companies, Grand Lan and South Beauty, Wang Sicong, who had risen to fame after Hsu and Wang's marriage, mocked the couple and suggested that Hsu had been subjected to domestic abuse by Wang.^[104]

By the late 2010s, their marriage was increasingly strained by Wang’s struggling business ventures in Taiwan—which prompted his desire to relocate the family to Beijing, much to Hsu’s reluctance—as well as by his outspoken nationalism regarding China’s unification with Taiwan. In February 2021, Hsu requested a divorce and initiated negotiations with Wang, who sought reconciliation before returning to mainland China, where he was first photographed with actress Zhang Yingying in May. In June, during China's zero-Covid period, reports emerged that two passengers had tested positive for COVID-19 in Xiamen after departing from Taiwan—one of whom had been allowed to board by Taiwan's Uni Air despite a positive test result^[105]—prompting Wang to harshly criticize on Weibo Taiwan's pandemic policies, shortage of vaccinations affecting his family in Taipei, as well as the island's growing pro-independence and anti-China sentiment, referring to some Taiwanese as "hanjian."^[106] Hsu then disclosed to Taiwanese media that she was divorcing Wang, whose remarks she declined to comment on, though both Wang and Hsu's mother denied the divorce then.^[107] After Wang’s unsuccessful attempts to salvage the marriage in the following months, Hsu and Wang officially announced their divorce on November 22, 2021.^[108][109] On November 28, 2021 Zhang Lan, Wang's mother, accused Blackie Chen, a Hsu family friend, of assaulting Wang over a political disagreement. The allegation, which implied Chen supported Taiwanese independence and thus sparked intense backlash from Chinese internet users against him, was retracted by Zhang and Wang later that same day.^[110]

After her divorce, Hsu and Koo Jun-yup rekindled their relationship. According to Koo, after reading news of Hsu’s divorce, he called a phone number he had kept for 20 years, only to discover that she had never changed it.^[111] However, Wang and his mother alleged that Hsu and Koo had established connection prior to her divorce, a claim corroborated by Taiwanese writer and TV personality “Nick” Wang Yu-Ren,^[112] but denied by Hsu and Koo.^[113] Notably, her ex-husband cited a parcel sent by Hsu in August 2021—prior to the finalization of their divorce—which contained a home-use tattoo machine intended for Koo in South Korea. However, Taiwanese tattoo artist Benjamin Lee, who had visited Hsu’s home to give her a tattoo, clarified that Hsu had instructed her family chauffeur to send the parcel merely as a courtesy after he mentioned that he was planning to send the machine to Koo, another of his clients.^[114]

Hsu and Koo registered their marriage on February 8, 2022 in South Korea, three months after her divorce from Wang—primarily to enable Koo to enter Taiwan on a spousal visa amid pandemic-related travel restrictions—and on March 28 in Taiwan, following Koo's arrival and quarantine.^[74][115] Hsu did not inform her family of the marriage in advance, prompting strong initial opposition from her mother when the news became public. However, as Koo relocated to Taiwan, he was later well-received by the Hsu family.^[116][117] Hsu did not hold a wedding ceremony for her remarriage, except for matching wedding ring tattoos by Koo.^[118]

In March 2022, after Dee talked favorably on her show about Barbie's reunion with Koo, Wang harshly attacked Dee on Weibo and accused her of abusing drugs.^[119] In November 2022, Hsu sought enforcement of spousal maintenance of over NT$27.17 million at the Taipei District Court against Wang, claiming he had failed to honor their divorce agreement since March of that year, and the court eventually granted enforcement for over NT$22.17 million. Wang claimed that he continued to pay child support and Hsu’s personal maintenance but no longer wished to cover her family expenses—primarily the NT$40,000 monthly electricity bill for the house he had previously shared with Hsu, which she now shared with Koo—after Hsu remarried. He then launched a series of attacks against Hsu and her family on Weibo including her second husband Koo, her sister Dee, and Dee’s husband, Mike Xu. Wang accused Dee of encouraging Barbie’s divorce out of jealousy, implying that Dee wanted to sabotage her sister’s marriage because Dee had endured habitual infidelity from Xu, who purchased a property in Shanghai for his extramarital relationships, using Wang’s funds paid by Hsu after Xu had discovered Dee’s affair with a dance instructor.^[120]

On December 3, 2022, Hsu asserted on social media that she had personally paid for the two houses in Taipei, which were selected by Wang, and that he owed her over NT$100 million, which she had lent him in 2018 for his business.^[121][122] Wang countered that Hsu had paid the down payment of one of the houses using NT$200 million he had previously deposited into her account when he did not yet have a bank account in Taiwan. He also stated that Hsu had reneged on an agreement to offset the NT$100 million loan in exchange for her ownership of a NT$400 million house following their divorce, and attributed the delay in repayment to China’s strict foreign exchange and money transfer regulations, which he circumvented by selling a painting, through which he repaid NT$5 million. Wang revealed the terms of their divorce and financial arrangements—widely seen as favoring Hsu, given his substantial financial commitments including a total of NT$184 million in alimony until 2038, a NT$250 million mortgage, and a credit card provided for routine expenses.^[123] According to Wang, Hsu had spent NT$12 million on luxury goods using his card post-divorce, including buying gifts for Koo and parts of the outfit she wore in her remarriage photos with Koo.^[124] Hsu subsequently sued Wang for violating Taiwan's Personal Data Protection Act by disclosing her address and bank information.^[125]

In the following years, Hsu and Wang were embroiled in a high-profile legal battle, marked by bitter online exchanges and sparking wide-ranging public discussions on sexism, misinformation, and cross-strait relations.^[126] Meanwhile, Wang repeatedly proposed remarriage but was rejected by Hsu, who was in her second marriage.^[127] Both accused each other of infidelity and domestic abuse during their marriage, with Wang's intimate photos with multiple women leaked.^[113][128] Actress Zhang Yingying, whom Hsu claimed had begun a relationship with Wang before his divorce, ended her relationship with Wang in 2023 amid an acrimonious breakup and disapproval from Wang’s mother. After Hsu's death, Zhang stated that Wang had been unfaithful since the second year of his marriage to Hsu, and “all the harm [Hsu] suffered was caused by him.”^[129] Wang and his mother accused Barbie and Dee of drug use and supporting Taiwanese independence—allegations that could result in a ban in China—which the sisters denied.^[130][131] On March 20, 2024, Hsu issued her most direct and detailed response to Wang’s series of allegations on Weibo^[132]:

The one who was unfaithful during the marriage was you, not me. After the divorce, it’s true that I used your credit card a few times out of spite. But you had signed off on it yourself. More importantly, I never used your card to buy anything for my husband.

I was furious at the time because:

1. Zhang Lan fabricated claims that Blackie assaulted you over political differences. The truth is: you were drunk and physically shoved my sister. I, heavily pregnant, tried to stop you and was pushed to the ground myself. You then picked up a box set of deluxe edition Harry Potter and tried to hurl it at me. Blackie stepped in to restrain you and stop you from hurting me. He never hit you.
2. I discovered many indecent photos of you with different women during our marriage. I was devastated. That’s when I understood why you were always so quick to fly back and forth…
3. Zhang Lan begged me not to divorce you. I had already told her about your affairs, and she swore to me that there was no such thing. Then photos of Zhang Yingying and her together, wearing matching necklaces, appeared in the media. Even after being exposed, she kept denying she had known Zhang Yingying while insulting her constantly. Later, you publicly admitted to a long-standing relationship with her and called her your “savior.”

Ten years of marriage, two miscarriages, and one serious injury.^[a] The fact that I used your card out of spite—looking back on it now—feels almost laughable. Because what I gave to you, invested in you, was far more than that. Even when I used your card, I was spending money I had worked hard to earn myself. After the divorce, you and your people spread rumors and twisted the truth, leading to the online abuse I still endure today. Still, I thank you—for creating such a brutal test for me. You’ve made me stronger. “No complaints, no excuses. With grace and composure—go!”

From now on, I will no longer respond to any of the slander and smear campaigns you fabricate. I will leave everything to the law and the judicial system. From this very second on, you are but an illusion, and I will walk only the path of flowers^[b].

On March 27, 2024, when asked whether their highly publicized divorce—sometimes seen as a symbolic end of the honeymoon period in cross-strait relations—would worsen relations, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office commented, “People on both sides of the strait are one family, and cross-strait marriages bring us even closer.” However, regarding the “rare cases of failed marriages,” the parties involved should “part on good terms and go their separate ways in peace.”^[133]

In February 2023, Hsu filed lawsuits in China against Wang for defamation and invasion of privacy, and against Zhang for online infringement liability; Hsu later applied for injunctions against Wang and Zhang. On August 19, 2024, the Beijing Internet Court granted Hsu's injunctions by prohibiting Wang and Zhang from publishing Hsu's personal information online, but dismissed Hsu's appeal to shut down their social media accounts. The injunctions would remain in effect until the court renders a final judgment, but Wang and Zhang effectively ignored them by continuing posting about Hsu online.^[134] At the time of Hsu's death on 2 February 2025, her lawsuits in Taiwan against Wang over matrimonial assets and violations of the Personal Data Protection Act remained unresolved,^[135] while the judgement from the Beijing Internet Court had yet to be issued.^[134]

Hobbies

Hsu was known for her keen interest in beauty treatments, particularly in hair care, skin whitening, and weight loss. She took anticoagulants over an extended period to achieve a paler complexion, despite being aware of the potential side effects.^[136] She earned the nickname "Beauty Queen" after her best-selling beauty guide series of the same name. An avid shopaholic, she boasted a collection of over 700 pairs of high heels.^[137] During the high-pressure filming of Connected (2008), she spent nearly her entire salary on over 30 pairs of shoes in one day as a way to relieve stress.^[138] Hsu was a fan of sci-fi, the supernatural and the UFOs, as well as a member of Taiwan UFOlogy Society. As an early Asian celebrity to embrace tattoos and piercings, Hsu played a role in shifting public perception from associating them with local gang culture to viewing them as a form of personal decoration. She had over ten tattoos, including a hexagram on the back of her neck as the symbol of Raëlism,^[139] matching ring tattoos with Koo, and matching lyric tattoos that read “Remember Together Forever” from the song "Remember" by French band Air.^[140][141] Hsu was a lifelong fan of Takuya Kimura since her junior high school years, which inspired her to learn Japanese and briefly pursue a career in Japan in 1995.^[142]

Charity

Hsu was an active supporter of charity over the years, particularly advocating for women's and children's rights, LGBT rights, and animal rights.^{[143][144][145]} Alongside Dee, she maintained a long-standing collaboration with World Vision Taiwan, through which the sisters adopted over 50 children worldwide^[146], and with Lions Clubs International, where their mother has served as a leader in the Taiwan chapter since the 2010s.^[147] She was one of the first major celebrities to collaborate with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.^[148]

Health

Hsu was one of the first Taiwanese celebrities to publicly discuss mental health, including her battle with depression in 2000, from which she recovered after one year. She also had a long history of anorexia. Hsu experienced two miscarriages. In 2011, she had to terminate her pregnancy due to fetal demise, and in 2018, while pregnant with her third child, she underwent an abortion after the embryo stopped developing. In 2017, after being hospitalized following a fainting episode, Hsu revealed that she had a pre-existing condition of mitral valve prolapse and a history of epilepsy, including a near-fatal episode during the birth of her son in 2016.^[149][150]

Death

Barbie Hsu on Death

I don’t wish for a very long life, but as long as I’m alive, I want to be beautiful every single day.

No matter what challenges I face, I know I can keep going, because I truly believe the world after death is beautiful. So whenever something happens, I just think, “Well, worst case, I die.“ And that actually makes me happy, because that means I’ve fulfilled my deepest wish.

I came into this world to live life on fast-forward. In this lifetime, I am meant to experience what others would in eight. Once I have lived it all, I won’t need to return in the next.

Barbie Hsu

On 29 January 2025, during the Chinese New Year holiday, Hsu traveled with her family to Japan.^{[151][152][153]} She died in Tokyo on 2 February, at the age of 48. The cause of death, according to her family, was pneumonia stemming from influenza complications,^[154][155] while some reports speculated septic shock, which can also be caused by pneumonia.^[156][157] News of Hsu’s death was first heavily hinted at by a Hong Kong travel influencer on his Facebook page before her family’s announcement. His page was later taken down amid backlash over the premature disclosure and perceived attention-seeking.^[158]

According to a widely circulated but unverified account of her final days in Japan—reportedly leaked by the Hsu family’s local tour guide on Xiaohongshu—Hsu contracted influenza in late January while still in Taiwan. Despite her condition, she proceeded with the planned trip, which was part of the Hsu family’s annual Chinese New Year tradition. Upon arriving in Japan on January 29, her symptoms quickly worsened, and she began experiencing coughing and asthma-like symptoms. That evening, she traveled to Hakone but remained confined to her room on January 30 and 31. On the second night, she was transported to a hospital by ambulance but was not admitted for further treatment and was returned to her accommodation later that night. On February 1, as her condition continued to deteriorate, she was examined at a small clinic and subsequently referred to a larger hospital, where she was diagnosed with Influenza A. However, she was only prescribed medication and sent back to rest. In the early hours of February 2, after showing signs of severe distress, she was rushed to a hospital in Tokyo for a fourth emergency visit. Despite resuscitation efforts, she was pronounced dead at 7:00 a.m. that morning.^[159][160] Present at her deathbed were her family—including her two children, husband, mother, sisters, their children (except Dee’s eldest daughter, who was studying in the United States), and brothers-in-law—as well as longtime friends Pace Wu and Janet Chia, the latter of whom came to see her one last time after learning of her critical condition.^[161][162]

Media ethics concerns were raised over the reporting of Hsu’s death. On 3 February, Wang Wei-Zhong, the sisters’ former manager and a close family friend, issued a statement on behalf of the Hsu family: “Throughout her life, Shi-yuan was most anxious about being chased by reporters, as it could be very dangerous. Her mother earnestly appeals to everyone: when the family brings Shi-yuan back to Taiwan, please refrain from filming or taking photos inside or outside the airport, and do not follow them on the road. This was a lifelong wish that Shi-yuan was never able to realize. We deeply hope for your understanding.”^[163] Taiwan’s National Communications Commission (NCC) urged the media to respect the feelings of the bereaved and to avoid sensationalism in their reporting of Hsu’s death.^[164] In response, Taiwanese media launched a self-regulation initiative, designating only one television station to film at the airport, under the agreement that footage would be captured without approaching the family and shared with all outlets, though some media organizations violated the agreement by dispatching reporters to obtain exclusive coverage.^[165] On the evening of 3 February, two of Dee's daughters returned to Taiwan ahead of the rest of the family, whose travel plans were kept confidential to avoid further media attention. Hsu’s remains were cremated on 4 February in Japan, and her ashes—carried in a pink urn—were returned to Taiwan on a flight chartered by Dee on 5 February. The family avoided photographers by exiting through the airport’s VIP channels.^[166]

On 3 February, Hsu's ex-husband, Wang Xiaofei, who claimed to have suffered a breakdown, along with a recurrence of depression and worsening bipolar disorder following Hsu's death, arrived in Taipei with his wife, Mandy Ma, a Taiwanese medical aesthetics consultant, from their Chinese New Year holiday in Thailand.^[167] That evening, Wang walked to his home in Taipei for half an hour in the rain, and, according to Hsu's mother, insultingly blamed her over the phone on the eve of Hsu’s cremation.^[168] On 4 February, Wang left emotional messages on Douyin clips of the marriage reality show Happiness Trio featuring him and Hsu, including "My wife, I miss you" and "I'm the one who should be dead."^[169] On 7 February, Hsu's widower, Koo Jun-yup, issued a statement, relinquishing his share of spousal legacy to Hsu's mother while vowed to protect the shares of Hsu's two children. He also condemned Wang for "pretending to be sad while walking in the rain", saying “[p]eople are trying to tarnish my family by spreading false rumors about the insurance and expenses, causing pain to our family," referring to the misinformation that Wang had paid for the chartered flight bringing Hsu's ashes from Japan to Taiwan and that Koo had taken out a large life insurance policy on Hsu. "It’s terrifying to realize that such cruel people really exist in this world,” Koo wrote.^[170][171]

Hsu’s sudden death led to a surge in demand for influenza vaccinations in Taiwan and other parts of Asia,^{[172][173][174]} and also prompted reflection on Japan’s healthcare system—particularly its strict tiered structure, which requires patients to first visit primary care clinics before being referred to specialists or larger hospitals, as well as its general reluctance to admit foreigners who do not speak Japanese.^[175][176] An outpouring of memorials followed. On 5 February, K-pop singer Sandara Park performed the song "Ni Yao De Ai" (你要的愛) from Meteor Garden's OST in Hsu's honor during Taiwan's Kaohsiung New Year's Eve Party.^[177] On 14 February, Taiwanese singer and actor Show Lo performed "Ai Zhuan Jiao" (愛轉角), the theme song of Corner With Love (2007), in which he starred alongside Hsu, at his Tokyo concert in her honor. On February 15, K-pop singer Rain led his audience in observing a 10-second moment of silence at his Kaohsiung concert in her honor, referring to her as "sister-in-law" as he is a sworn brother of Koo.^[178][179] On 22 February, Malaysian singer Penny Tai, the singer-songwriter of "Ni Yao De Ai", performed the song in Hsu's honor at her Shanghai concert.^[180] Christine Fan, who along with her husband Blackie Chen were beset by online speculation that they had infected Hsu with influenza at a post-wedding homecoming banquet for Wang Wei-Zhong's daughter on January 15, which was Hsu's last public appearance, refuted the claim by sharing her chat history with a doctor.^[181] On 15 March, Fan dedicated to Hsu performances of "One is the Fall, the Other is the Summer" (一個像夏天一個像秋天) and "Those Flowers" (那些花兒) at a compilation concert in Nanning,^[182] and "Can We Not Be Brave" (可不可以不勇敢), whose music video features Fan and the Hsu sisters, at the opening concert of her tour in Shanghai.^[183] Other celebrities who mourned her included Huang Xiaoming, Peter Ho, Jacky Wu, Rainie Yang, Lin Chi-ling, Louis Koo, Andy Lau, Michelle Yeoh,^[184][185] as well as her Meteror Garden co-stars F4 and the manga artist Yoko Kamio, author of the original comic series Hana Yori Dango.^{[186][187][188]} A Chinese fan sponsored a billboard tribute for her in New York’s Times Square, while plazas and shopping malls across China, both independently and through sponsorships, displayed memorial messages on their billboards.^[189] Raffles City Shanghai was reportedly flagged and removed its memorial messages, including Hsu’s 2013 Weibo post written two years into her first marriage—“I must find myself again. So should you.”— ahead of International Women’s Day, a time when Chinese authorities are particularly sensitive to feminist messaging. However, China Central Place in Beijing also featured the quote as part of its International Women’s Day celebrations.^[190]

No memorial was held by Hsu’s family, in accordance with her preference to "keep a low profile." On 8 February, the first seventh-day memorial (頭七) after Hsu’s death, family and friends gathered at her home under the theme of her “third wedding anniversary,” sharing cake and champagne and refraining from tears, honoring her farewell wishes.^[191] Hsu was initially announced to have a tree burial per her wishes,^[192] but was later laid to rest at the Rose Garden of Chin Pao San Cemetery in New Taipei City on 15 March, as her widower, Koo, sought to provide a memorial site with a sculpture for family and friends to pay their visits.^[193][194] Hsu’s estate, estimated at NT$ 600 million, were settled in early March and equally divided among Koo and her two children. Koo, who had pledged his inheritance to Hsu's mother, reportedly accepted the tentative arrangement as the right to inheritance is not transferrable under Taiwanese law.^[195] Since Hsu's children are still minors, their inheritance shares and guardianship will be managed by their biological father, Wang, until they reach adulthood.^[196][197] Nevertheless, Taiwanese paparazzo Ge Siqi, who is associated with Wang, claimed that at the time of her death, Hsu had a bank balance of only 1.33 million RMB and that both of her properties were under mortgage, effectively placing the rights to her estate under encumbrance.^[198]

Hsu spoke about death throughout her career, shaped by her early struggles with depression and a host of health issues she had after marriage, including several near-death experiences, embodying a philosophical and completely at-ease outlook. At the time of her death, her WeChat signature read: "Death is inevitable."^[199]

Image

As a group, Barbie and Dee have been famously referred to as "The Truman Show of Taiwan" by Kevin Tsai due to their extensive public exposure from a young age, both on and off screen, and the strong parasocial relationship they built with audiences through their variety shows. In later years, as their family matters increasingly made headlines and obsessed social media, the Hsu family was also, at times pejoratively, compared to the Kardashian family of the Chinese world (with Wang Xiaofei compared to "Kanye East").^{[200][201][202]} Barbie and Dee are especially popular among women, urban dwellers and the LGBTQ community, of which they were also among the earliest public supporters in the Chinese-speaking world, including advocating for same-sex marriage on their show in the early 2000s.^[203] On the other hand, their shows sometimes sparked controversy with their no-holds-barred topics and alleged insensitivity toward Taiwan's local traditions and culture, including glove puppetry and Southern Min dialect, which are closely associated with the pan-Green Coalition—contrasting with their pan-Blue background.^[204]

As a public figure, Hsu was often described as "brave," "kind," "true to herself," drawing comparisons to the "chivalrous women," the heroines of kung fu films. A leader and protector of her family and friends, she was known for standing up to her father’s domestic abuse on behalf of her mother while growing up, shielding her younger sister—first in school, later in the industry—and, in one of her most well-known stories, intervening in a case of child abuse by a triad member after hearing a child crying as she passed by their home.^[205] She was also known for being "daring in love and hate," a phrase often used to characterize her high-profile romantic life and two "flash marriages." Her friends and family often described her as being "ging,” a Southern Min dialect word meaning “tense and unable to relax,” reflecting her strict self-discipline and perfectionism on and off screen.^[206] Hsu's bold opinions and sharp sense of humor occasionally sparked controversy.^{[207][208][209]} As she explained one of her controversial jokes from 100% Entertainment on Kangsi Coming: “Little S told me that every time she saw me lying at home with depression, she was terrified that I might grab a knife and kill her. So I jokingly said, ‘If I were to kill someone, I’d start with mom.’ I was really just kidding, but because I happened to be struggling with depression at the time, everyone thought I actually wanted to kill my mom.”^[210][211]

Hsu was a fixture in celebrity media, due in part to her unusually open and candid attitude toward her private life from the outset—an uncommon trait among idol celebrities in Asia. Her relationships were often perceived as being marked by her dominant and, at times, emasculating presence due to her fame and personality—a dynamic acknowledged by Vic Chou as a factor in their breakup and cited by her former mother-in-law, Zhang Lan, as a reason for Hsu's divorce from Wang Xiaofei.^[212][213] Her relationship with Blackie Chen was better known as a friendship, since their romantic involvement took place before either of them became famous. Her relationships with Lan Cheng-lung and Vic Chou, both her Meteor Garden co-stars, were generally well-received by idol drama fans. After stepping back from acting, she drew no less public attention with her marriages, often likened to the high-stakes drama of her own idol shows.

Hsu's marriage with Wang, at the height of his family business South Beauty, when he had a reputation as a fuerdai (capital playboy) known for his romantic involvements with celebrities such as Zhang Ziyi and Zhang Yuqi, was initially characterized as her "marrying into wealth," drawing scrutiny for her perceived displays of extravagance, especially her lavish wedding in Sanya, which was held mainly at Wang's insistence.^[214][215] Taiwan's Want Daily hailed their marriage as a milestone reshaping cross-strait marriage narratives, challenging stereotypes of economically disadvantaged Mainland brides marrying into Taiwan, where discrimination against cross-strait marriages prevailed, and promoting greater equality amid China’s economic rise.^[216] Since 2015, when South Beauty faced fraud allegations and went into receivership,^[217] Wang increasingly leveraged Hsu’s fame for his business, registering multiple trademarks related to her during their marriage.^[218] In 2017, Wang opened the S Hotel in Taipei, which was named after "Big S" with a budget of NT$350 million; the hotel was renamed in March 2024 as Mgallery after their divorce and was closed in August that same year.^[219][220] Hsu's divorce battle with Wang—sometimes seen as a symbolic end of the honeymoon period in cross-strait relations—positioned her as both a sympathetic figure and a feminist icon among younger, urban, and more progressive circles, while drawing criticism from conservative segments, particularly among some married women and the older generation. In addition, her once union with a Chinese businessman who has been vocally pro-unification solidified her as a persona non grata among Taiwan's pro-independence pan-Green Coalition, who criticized her for donating masks to mainland China during the COVID-19 pandemic and, among some pan-Green influencers, gloated over her death or spread conspiracy theories about it.^[221]

Hsu’s marriage to Koo Jun-yup, two decades after their break-up, was widely celebrated in South Korea and Taiwan, where it was portrayed as a fairy-tale reunion.^[111] However, her second marriage proved as polarizing as her divorce three months earlier in China, as Wang and his mother implied that Hsu and Koo had engaged in an affair prior to her divorce, portraying Koo—perceived in China as less affluent or famous—as a “gold digger” and “freeloader” for marrying Hsu and moving into the house that Wang had provided. A media frenzy erupted when Wang publicly urged Koo to replace the bed mattress in the house, which Hsu ultimately returned to the S Hotel and had destroyed live on Taiwanese television.^[222][223] Following her death, a divisive debate emerged over whether Hsu could have been saved if Wang had been present, given his prior experience in managing her health crises—which Hsu publicly acknowledged as having saved her life “many times”—his public concerns over her possible death due to her fragile health which her family downplayed after their divorce, and his more assertive, intense personality compared to the rest of her family, including her second husband, where Hsu typically took the lead.^[224][225] Hsu’s agent, Angelina Liao—who had been sued by Wang for defamation during the divorce battle before the case was dismissed—stated that Hsu’s mother believed the three-year marriage with Koo was “the happiest time” in Hsu’s life,^[226] while Hsu’s mother also implied that Hsu's marriage with Wang was a "ten-year mistreatment."^[227]

In her remembrance, Tencent Entertainment called Hsu a "cyber bestie of a generation," noting the "vibrant" and "entertaining" presence she and her sister brought to the Chinese-speaking world more than two decades ago remains unrivaled.^[228] Sanlian Lifeweek called her an “entertainment queen" while reflecting on the burdens of her relentless determination throughout her tumultuous childhood, career and marriage: "Though she never wished to reveal her struggles, never showed weakness, and never lost control in public, the experiences she endured over the years laid bare the challenges she faced as a woman [...] Beyond her iconic role as Shan Cai, her greatest performance was playing herself. If being a celebrity were a profession, she had fulfilled her duty with unwavering dedication—right up until her final moment."^[229] Writer Huang Tongtong summarized Hsu’s life as the "lifelong forced resilience of East Asian women," describing how she became the protector of her mother and sisters in "a deeply patriarchal family" and a survivor in the cutthroat entertainment industry, both from a young age: "She had no choice but to turn herself into a lone wolf—trusting no one but herself, relying on no one but herself. In many ways, her relentless drive, her desperate efforts, and her habit of living each day as if it were her last became an unshakable fixation in her life."^[230]

In Rappler and Rolling Stone Philippines, Hsu was remembered for the “Meteor Fever” that introduced the Philippines to Asian dramas, shifting the cultural landscape previously dominated by teleseryes and dramas from Latin America and North America.^[231][232] In Initium Media, critics Jia Xuanning and Yang Buhuan offered differing perspectives on Hsu’s legacy. Jia noted that Hsu, with her sister, pushed the boundaries of traditional Chinese femininity, demonstrating that women could be "unruly, funny, and sharp-tongued" while freely expressing their emotions.^[200] Yang critiqued the dominant memorial narratives, arguing that they placed greater emphasis on Hsu’s relationships and family over her professional achievements, romanticizing both her entanglements with Wang through tragic romance tropes and the circumstances of her death: "Drawing from Hsu’s approach to life, her views on death, and her proactive and eventful romantic history, some articles have portrayed her death as that of a kung fu heroine—departing with no regrets, young, beautiful, and carefree, as if she had merely taken a fleeting journey through this world. However, this is a perspective I personally cannot accept. A woman of such deep emotions and passion endured over a decade of infidelity and domestic violence. After finally breaking free, she had only three short years to explore a new life—years in which she was relentlessly subjected to slander and humiliation from the outside world," referring to her acrimonious and polarizing divorce. Yang concluded: "If there is any solace to be found in her passing, I believe the most genuine comfort lies in what one netizen put so poignantly: 'Her final years of resistance and defiance won her the chance to return to her maternal, matrilineal family—to be cared for, and to pass with dignity.'”^[233]

In a commentary for CNA, Annabel Lim examined the collective sense of emotional loss following Hsu’s passing, attributing it to her strong parasocial presence for a generation of viewers, "like a piece of my youth had been ripped away without warning."^[234] In The Straits Times, Jan Lee called Hsu “the TV big sister” growing up while reflecting on her beauty legacy: “She was also the first celebrity I remember who was honest about what she did to look good. As a self-proclaimed ‘Queen of Beauty,’ who released books about skincare and beauty treatments, she talked openly about Botox and Thermage and admitted to always being hungry to maintain her svelte figure. I don’t think all her methods were healthy, but I liked that she did not sell me a fantasy.”^[235] Luo Beibei, a popular independent entertainment writer in China, observed that while Hsu’s beauty standards may be debated today, "[her] same ideas have ignited conversation in every era—that’s what it means to be truly influential. Perspectives change over time, but one thing about Hsu never did: her extraordinary will and the determination to see things through. Whatever she set her mind to, she pursued with unwavering resolve—becoming beautiful, becoming a star, love and marriage, children, family, turning domestic life into captivating storytelling… And then, divorce. Followed by a remarriage so swift and unexpected after being applauded for her divorce that the world could barely process it, when she told the world that it was a love story two decades in the making."^[236] After Hsu's death, Luo launched an online campaign calling for the ban of Zhang Lan's and Wang Xiaofei’s Douyin accounts, which some credited as a contributing factor in the platform’s decision to take action.^[237]

Kevin Tsai, a close friend to the Hsu sisters, compared Hsu's passing to an unfinished fairy tale, which echoes a widespread sentiment online:^[238] “Someone once worked so hard to pursue happiness, and after enjoying it for a while, that happiness came to an end. It’s like flipping through a fairy tale, expecting to see the page where the princess and the prince live happily ever after, but that page was never printed—you just turn to a blank page. It’s so shocking, like, ‘This isn’t what you promised me.’”^[239] Southern People Weekly compared the significance of Shan Cai to Jane Eyre for Hsu’s generation, drawing parallels between Hsu’s life and her iconic character: "While they undoubtedly embodied pioneering attitudes and perspectives, they were also constantly restrained by traditional values," the article observed, identifying Hsu’s marriage to Wang as a watershed moment, after which she put her career on hold as she navigated family drama and health struggles stemming from her pursuit of motherhood. "Yet, it is precisely because of her complexity, contradictions, and limitations that we love her—and love Shan Cai."^[240] Meng Jing, an independent entertainment writer and former reporter of Sanlian Lifeweek, noted Hsu as the "backbone" of the “last matrilineal family”: “The Hsu mother and daughters spent their lives both upholding tradition and, at times, resisting it when it threatened to crush them. [...] They were not the fearless, independent heroines of empowerment narratives—there was compliance, hesitation, and entanglement. They never delivered the dramatic slaps to their men that some might have found satisfying, leaving those observers frustrated by their lack of defiance, while others resented them for not fully submitting. But that is real life. The charm of the Hsu sisters lies in how every chapter of their lives resonates with so many people—because when a story is too triumphant, it leaves no room for you to see yourself in it.”^[241]

Controversies

Glove puppetry

In February 2000, Barbie and Dee sparked controversy on their show 100% Entertainment when they talked about Legend of the Sacred Stone (2000), Taiwan's first glove puppetry film. Barbie said: “Setting aside the serious topic of whether or not to support domestic films, I personally find glove puppetry unbearably awful… Sure, it may be considered part of China’s cultural heritage, but at the end of the day, it’s just puppets! You could just pick up a doll at home and perform the same thing… I honestly hate glove puppetry! The same goes for things like shadow puppetry and marionette shows—I hate them all.” It was widely misreported that they called fans of glove puppetry "lunatics."^[242] They apologized after facing backlash from fans of glove puppetry, which is closely tied to Taiwan’s local identity and pan-Green Coalition, in contrast to their own perceived association with the waishengren, pan-Blue Coalition.^[204]

COVID-19 pandemic

On January 27, 2020, during the early outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when most countries prioritized domestic mask supplies and Taiwan imposed a mask export ban from 24 January to 23 February (later extending to June), Hsu and her then-husband, Wang Xiaofei, donated 10,000 masks purchased from Japan to Wuhan, sparking criticism from internet users in both Japan and Taiwan.^[243][244] Three days later, on January 30, Wang announced that an additional 10,000 masks, originally intended for donation to mainland China, would instead be donated to Taiwan due to Taiwan’s mask export ban, sparking criticism from internet users in China.^[245]

In June 2021, one week after she disclosed that she was divorcing from Wang, Hsu posted an Instagram story stating, “My Weibo account has been blocked, and my IG has been suspended! I just want to say: We are being massacred! Tsai! Massacring us,” followed by “Isn’t this a massacre?” She later added, “Um… Weibo and IG are actually fine… I just don’t know how to use them… But I stand by what I said!” Through her manager, Hsu clarified that she was wondering, “When will all 23 million people in Taiwan finally have access to vaccines? We're not guinea pigs! Our lives matter too!” The comments were widely interpreted as criticism of the Tsai Ing-wen administration over its delayed rollout of vaccine distribution in Taiwan.^[246]

Zhang Lan's livestreaming

For three years after Hsu’s divorce from Wang Xiaofei until her death, Wang’s mother, Chinese-Kittian businesswoman Zhang Lan, leveraged abrasive parodies and sensational rumors about Hsu and the Hsu family in her Douyin livestreaming e-commerce, generating high traffic but also fueling intense controversy over alleged sexism, misinformation, and cyberbullying—including with Wang, who publicly severed ties with his mother three times over the same period, primarily due to her exploitation of Hsu in her livestreams.^[247] In May 2024, after Zhang claimed that Hsu's son had been expelled from school, Hsu refuted on Weibo, saying that she had filed for an injunction with the Beijing Internet Court over Zhang while appealing to the court, the All-China Women's Federation, the Cyberspace Administration of China, and Douyin to take action over Zhang's repeated spreading of false information. On August 19, 2024, the court granted Hsu’s injunction, which Zhang effectively ignored the same day by posting a video in which a female host suggested Hsu—without naming her—meant to send Zhang and Wang to jail and questioned her fitness as a mother due to her remarriage with Koo three months after her divorce. The case was heard twice in court but had not reached a judgement by the time of Hsu’s death in February, 2025.^[134]

After Hsu’s death, Zhang’s godson, Xia Jian, falsely claimed on Douyin that Wang had paid for the chartered flight carrying Hsu’s ashes from Japan to Taiwan, with Zhang endorsing his video. After Dee, who paid for the flight, and the flight company denied Xia's claims, on February 8, 2025, Hsu’s first seventh-day memorial (頭七), Douyin indefinitely banned the accounts of Wang, Zhang, and Xia for spreading misinformation and "disrespect for the deceased," a decision endorsed by Chinese state media, including the Guangming Daily.^[248][249] Both Zhang and Wang contested the ban, with Wang claiming that he never spread misinformation.^[250] However, Zhang later approved of the ban, describing it as a way to “protect” her.^[251] Zhang continued to livestream on TikTok, Douyin's international version, and opened new accounts through her team on Douyin and other platforms.^{[252][253][254]} Following Douyin, Weibo removed over 2,100 posts about Hsu containing "the falsehoods from external sites" and imposed penalties on over 100 accounts, including the suspension of live-streaming on Zhang's account.^[255][256] On 2 March, Kuaishou banned Wang and Zhang from posting videos on their accounts.

Drug abuse allegations

Hsu was accused by multiple people of drug use, but none was confirmed. After their divorce, Hsu's ex-husband Wang Xiaofei repeatedly accused Hsu of the misuse of the sedative Stilnox through others' prescriptions, for which he used to pay over NT$1 million each month.^[257] According to Hsu, Wang’s allegation— for which he apologized to her after first making it in May 2022— was made in retaliation for her refusal to falsely assert to the public that he had remained faithful during their marriage.^[134] On March 22, 2023, the anniversary of their wedding, Wang twice attempted to forcibly enter Hsu's residence in Taipei. He was taken away after the security reported to the police. At the police station, he told the police and media that his children are being "illegally detained and withheld" by Hsu and he intended to file a report accusing Hsu of abusing Stilnox; however, he left the police station without providing evidence or filing a report.^[258]

In June 2023, following multiple women's allegations of sexual misconduct against Mickey Huang, Dee's ex-boyfriend, Huang retaliated by exposing multiple Taiwanese celebrities, including accusing Barbie and Dee of drug use. The Hsu sisters issued a joint statement expressing regret over Huang's unstable emotional state and refuting the drug use allegation, stating that one of Huang's alleged events, “Barbie was not even present at the scene.” They also noted that the court had ruled in 2004 against a Next Magazine's report on Dee's alleged drug use, “legally clearing Dee’s name.” In light of Huang's report, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office investigated the Hsu sisters by collecting their hair and urine samples, which tested positive for sedatives such as Stilnox. However, the substances detected were consistent with their prescribed medications from regular outpatient visits. As no criminal offenses were found, the case was closed without charges in May 2024.^[259]

In June 2023, shortly after Huang's allegations, paparazzo Ge Siqi claimed on a television program that he had heard from sources about a drug dealer supplying narcotics to the Hsu sisters. In response, Barbie and Dee filed a civil lawsuit against Ge, seeking NT$2 million each in damages. In November, the Taipei District Court ruled that Ge lacked sufficient evidence and ordered him to pay NT$300,000 to each sister. Ge later stated that he lost the case because he refused to disclose his sources. Ge's compensation was ultimately covered by Wang Xiaofei.^[260]

Discography

As ASOS:^[261]

Title	Album details
佔領年輕 - 至少我深愛過一次	Released: 1994 Label: Pony Canyon
Best of SOS	Released: 1995 Label: Pony Canyon
天天寄出的信	Released: 1995 Label: Pony Canyon
姐妹情深	Released: 1995 Label: Pony Canyon
我是女菩薩	Released: 1996 Label: Pony Canyon
顛覆歌	Released: 1996 Label: Pony Canyon
貝殼	Released: 1997 Label: Pony Canyon
變態少女	Released: 2001[262] Label: Skyhigh Entertainment Co., Ltd

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref
2005	The Ghost Inside	Lin Xiaoyue		[263]
2006	Silk	Su		[264]
2008	Connected	Grace Wong		[263]
	My So Called Love	Kitty		[265]
2009	On His Majesty's Secret Service			[264]
2010	Hot Summer Days	Dingdang		[266]
	Future X-Cops	Wang Xue'e (Miss Holly)		[264]
	Adventure of the King	Phoenix		[264]
	Reign of Assassins	Zhanqing		[264]
2011	My Kingdom	Xi Mu Lang		[267]
2012	Croczilla	Wei Yan		[264]
	Motorway	Yee		[268]

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref
2001	Meteor Garden	Shan Cai		[269]
2002	Meteor Garden II	Shan Cai		[270]
	The Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra	Wife		[271]
2003	Eternity: A Chinese Ghost Story	Nie Xiao Qian		[264]
2004	Mars	Han Qi Luo		[270]
	Say Yes Enterprise 求婚事务所	Xiao Niao		[264]
2005	Phantom Lover 夜半歌声	Tong Ruo Fan		[272]
2007	Corner With Love	Yu Xin Lei		[264]
2010	Summer's Desire	Yin Xia Mo		[273]

Variety shows

• Guess Guess Guess: 1998 to 2000^[274]
• 100% Entertainment: 1998 to 2005^[274]
• Weekend Three Precious Fun: 2001^[30]
• Gourmet Secrets of the Stars [zh]: 2007 to 2008^[274]
• Let's Dance [zh]: 2008 to 2009^[275]
• Miss Beauty: 2018^[276]
• We Are Real Friends: 2019^[277]
• After Becoming Mother: 2020^[278]

Bibliography

Year	Title	Type	Ref
2003	Barbie Essence	Photobook	[263]
2004	Mei Rong Da Wang (美容大王)	Beauty book	[263]
2005	Penny Dreadful	Poetry book	[263]
2007	Mei Rong Da Wang II	Beauty book	[263]

Awards and nominations

Year	Ceremony	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref
2001	Golden Bell Awards	Best Leading Actress in a TV Series	Meteor Garden	Nominated	[279]
2008	Hong Kong Film Awards	Best Actress	Connected	Nominated	[280]
	Shanghai Television Festival	Best Actress	Corner with Love	Nominated	[281]
2011	Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Youth Film Festival	Best Supporting Actress	Reign of Assassins	Nominated	[282]
2012	Macau International Movie Festival	Best Actress	Croczilla	Won	[264]
	Shanghai International Film Festival	Film Channel Media Award: Best Actress		Nominated	[283]

Notes

1. "Two deaths" refers to two miscarriages, and "one serious injury" to Hsu herself.
2. “Path of flowers” is a reference to the song Flower Road by South Korean singer Kim Sejeong. It symbolizes a wish for a smooth and fortunate journey ahead, where only good things happen.