‘Meteor Garden’ star Barbie Hsu dies at 48

CEBU, Philippines — Taiwanese star Barbie Hsu, who was hugely popular across Asia for her leading role in the 2001 television drama “Meteor Garden”, has died from a respiratory illness. She was 48. Hsu passed away after developing pneumonia during a family trip to Japan over the Lunar New Year holiday, the younger of her two sisters was quoted as saying.

Hsu and her younger sister Dee rose to fame in the 1990s as a pop duo before switching to hosting TV shows and acting. It was the elder Hsu’s role as Dong Shan Cai in Taiwan’s popular 2001 television series “Meteor Garden” that made her a star across Asia. The show about an ordinary girl attending an elite university was originally based on a Japanese manga series. It was later remade in China and now screens on Netflix.  — (FREEMAN)