Barbie Hsu: A look into her past work on-screen

Barbie Hsu is a big name in Taiwanese tabloids lately for her recent big stakes divorce and end of fairytale romance with hotel tycoon Wang Xiaofei. Although she has somewhat retired from acting, Barbie Hsu remains active in modelling and in starring in variety television.

Take a look at her journey in Asia's entertainment world!

Barbie Hsu, along with sister Dee Hsu, was part of the Taiwanese girl duo ‘ASOS’, which also coincidentally stands for ‘Sisters of Shu’.

(Image: Skyline Entertainment)

Some of the hit songs from the sister duo include ‘Ten Minutes of Love’, ‘At Least I Have Loved Deeply Once’, ‘Letters Sent Everyday’ and ‘Can’t Keep Your Love’.

(Image: Skyline Entertainment)

‘ASOS’ also entered the Japanese market in 1995 with the release of their album ‘Best of SOS’.

(Image: Skyline Entertainment)

Throughout their singing career, sisters Barbie and Dee Hsu both sported an innocent and pure image. This changed when they released ‘I Hate You’ in 1998 and the duo switched to a more mature style. The two sisters also moved into TV hosting in the same year.

(Image: Skyline Entertainment)

As TV hosts, Barbie and Dee Hsu both started to show a much more boisterous and outgoing personality which was a sharp and shocking change from their initial image as singers. The change was a welcome one as it then cemented the duo as very memorable and strong characters in Taiwan’s entertainment scene, making them more popular than ever before.

(Image: GTV)

Barbie Hsu’s TV host work in ‘Guess Guess Guess’ and ‘100% Entertainment’ especially, turned her into a household name and into becoming one of Taiwan TV’s most iconic TV hosts. This is a huge feat accomplished by Barbie Hsu (along with sister Dee Hsu), as it is extremely difficult to make it big as a TV host in Taiwan, what more as a female one no less!

From Sina, Barbie and her sister Dee Hsu established their own niche in hosting by performing caricatures of famous and non-famous people.

(Image: GTV)

The sisters’ caricature work showcased their ability to perform in different roles. Hence, it is no wonder that Barbie Hsu then soon moved on to acting in 2001, having already proven her knack for it while TV hosting!

Barbie Hsu’s first break into acting was in the Taiwanese drama ‘Meteor Garden’. ‘Meteor Garden’ is TV drama adaptation of Yoko Kamio’s 1990s manga work, ‘Boys Over Flowers’.

(Image: CTS)

In ‘Meteor Garden’, Barbie Hsu plays main character Dong Shan Cai, and becomes caught in a fateful crossfire with four famous men in her university, collectively known as the ‘F4’, and enters into a relationship with one of them, Dao Ming Si, later in the story.

(Image: CTS)

Barbie Hsu would go on to reprise her role as Dong Shan Cai again in ‘Meteor Garden II’ the following year, where her on-screen love interest, Dao Ming Si, played by Jerry Yan, suffers from memory loss and gradually regains his memory and remembers his love for Dong Shan Cai.

(Image: CTS)

In the same year, Barbie Hsu landed a role in a major Taiwanese-Hong Kong crossborder TVB production, acting as the Ice Goddess in ‘The Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra’. This was a big deal as Barbie Hsu had the chance to star alongside many other A-listers, including big names such as Sammi Cheung, Dicky Cheung, Andy Hui, and Gillian Chung and Charlene Choi!

(Image: TVB)

Back in another lead role, Barbie Hsu played female ghost spirit Nie Xiaoqian in CTS’s crossborder production ‘Eternity: A Chinese Ghost Story’. The show features a diverse casting from across China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. ‘Eternity: A Chinese Ghost Story’ is a show loosely based on Chinese myths and folktales and it became a massive hit across Asia.

(Image: CTS)

2004 through ‘Mars’ was the reunion of Barbie Hsu and old ‘Meteor Garden’ co-star Vic Chou! ‘Mars’ is another hit Japanese romance manga adaption that depicts a love triangle between Han Qi-Luo, played by Barbie Hsu, and twins Chen Ling and Chen Sheng, both played by Vic Chou.

(Image: CTS)

‘Say Yes Enterprise’ is a Taiwanese drama that is interestingly divided into 7 chapters -- all of which are based on famous proposal stories from various films across the US, UK and Japan. Barbie Hsu plays the character Little Bird in the third chapter, which is based on the 1995 Japanese movie, ‘Love Letter’.

(Image: TTV)

In 2005 Barbie Hsu played Tong Ruofan in ‘Phantom Lover’. The show is a Taiwanese revenge romance drama based in the 1930s, where Barbie Hsu’s character, Tong Ruofan, becomes stuck in the middle of a love triangle between Chen Tianyi and Song Danping. The show also features elements that were inspired by Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'The Phantom of the Opera'!

(Image: Beijing Television)

With iconic Taiwanese TV host Show Luo, Barbie Hsu starred in 2007 Taiwanese romance comedy ‘Corner With Love’. Featuring two power hosts on Taiwanese TV starring alongside one another in ‘Corner With Love’, the show became a big hit and was nominated for the Best Marketing Programme of the Year at the 42nd Taiwanese Golden Bell Awards.

(Image: CTV)

‘Summer’s Desire’ became Barbie Hsu’s last acting gig on the small screen. ‘Summer’s Desire’ is a romance drama series based on a novel of the same name by Ming Xiaoxi. Like with many romance dramas, Barbie Hsu’s character, Yin Xiamo, becomes stuck in a love triangle with Luo Xi, played by Huang Xiaoming, and Ou Chen, played by Peter Ho.

(Image: FTV)

At the same time in 2005 while busy with her other acting and hosting work on TV, Barbie Hsu was also acting on the big screen. Here we include some of her notable appearances in film.

(Image: Media Asia Films)

‘The Ghost Inside’ was Barbie Hsu’s first big-screen gig. Co-starring with Chinese actor Liu Ye, Barbie Hsu plays Lin Xiaoyue -- a woman who is forced to take shelter in a new (and haunted) home with her daughter.

(Image: China Film Group)

‘On His Majesty's Secret Service’ is a 2009 film by Wong Jing, which stars Louis Koo, Barbie Hsu, David Tong, and Sandra Ng. The film is a historical drama-comedy loosely based on Wong Jing’s earlier film ‘Forbidden City Cop’ and also parodies the 1969 James Bond film, ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’.

(Image: Mega-Vision Pictures)

In 2012 and what would be Barbie Hsu’s last acting gig prior to her semi-retiring from it due to personal commitments, Barbie Hsu starred as Jiayi in Cheang Pou-soi’s ‘Motorway’. ‘Motorway’ is a Hong Kong crime action film that features many gripping car race sequences, which won it the Best Action Choreography Award at the 49th Golden Horse Awards!

(Image: Media Asia Films)

Although Barbie Hsu has semi-retired, she is still active in Taiwan's entertainment industry as the TV host for the variety TV show 'Miss Beauty'! Seems like TV hosting is her best suit!

(Image: Screen Media Films)

Read also: Barbie Hsu and Wang Xiaofei's messy divorce - a timeline