Barbie made her last public appearance at Taiwanese producer Wang Wei-zhong’s family banquet last month (Jan 25).
She was seen in a selfie with her pal Blackie Chen, Dee and DJ Koo.
Barbie made her showbiz debut in 1994 with Dee as pop duo S.O.S. The group’s biggest hit was the pop ditty ’10-Minute Love’.
Together, the sisters hosted variety show Guess (1996-2000), entertainment news program 100% Entertainment (1998-2005), and cooking show Gourmet Secrets of the Stars (2007-2008).
Barbie’s popularity skyrocketed after starring in 2001 Taiwanese idol drama Meteor Garden (2001) alongside Taiwanese boy group F4.
She was also known for her roles in TV series Mars (2004), Corner with Love (2007) and Summer’s Desire (2010).
Barbie stopped acting soon after her marriage to Wang Xiaofei in 2011 but would appear on variety shows.
Last night (Feb 2), an anonymous post on a Japan travel FB page shared that a top Taiwanese actress had passed away from an illness while on a holiday in Japan.
The post hinted that the actress, who is married to a foreigner and had kids, is 48 and was from the “Meteor Garden generation”, which quickly had netizens guessing it was Barbie.