Hsu began her career at 17, as part of a pop duo with her sister Dee. They became famous as TV hosts, known for their animated style and sense of humour.
But it was Meteor Garden, a TV adaptation of a 1990s Japanese comic of the same name, that turned Hsu into a star whose fame stretched beyond Chinese entertainment.
In the drama, Hsu played Shancai, a teen 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, one of the most popular Mandopop groups of the 2000s.
On Monday, F4 member Ken Chu shared a black, empty screen as well as a group photo with Hsu on Instagram. Then on Weibo, he wrote: “What a bolt from the blue.”
After Meteor Garden, Hsu starred in more than a dozen TV shows and movies, including popular romantic dramas like Corner With Love and Summer’s Desire.
She took a brea from acting in 2012, but continued to appear in reality shows.
Aya Liu, a host and long-time friend of the Hsu sisters, wrote on Weibo that she had met Hsu at a gathering last month, where they had promised to meet more often.
“I didn’t think that would be our last gathering,” Liu wrote. “Rest in peace, the most beautiful queen.”
Hsu was the top trending topic on Weibo on Monday. “She was only 48 years old… this is too sudden. This is a little difficult to accept,” read one comment.
Posts about influenza in Japan were also trending as fans tried to understand how she had fallen sick.
