Late Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu honoured with asteroid named after her
The meteor is named Xuxiyuan, after Hsu’s Chinese name.
Taiwanese singer-actress Barbie Hsu died in February 2025. (Photo: Reuters/Eric Gaillard)
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Barbie Hsu, the late Taiwanese singer-actress, now has her name written in the stars – literally.
Asteroid 208663 was recently named Xuxiyuan after Hsu’s Chinese name, reported Hankook Ilbo.
The asteroid was discovered by Hong Kong astronomer Yang Guangyu, a former president of the Hong Kong Astronomical Society, who first observed it at Arizona’s Desert Eagle Observatory in 2002. At the time, it was temporarily designated 2002 GF11.
In a further tribute, asteroid 208664 Koo Jun-yup has also been named after Hsu’s husband, South Korean singer and DJ Koo Jun-yup, making them one of the rare celebrity couples to be honoured in this way.
Yang is known within astronomical circles for naming asteroids after prominent figures in Chinese-language entertainment.
Hsu, also known as Big S, first entered the entertainment industry in 1994 as one half of the pop duo S.O.S alongside her younger sister Dee Hsu, better known as Little S. The late TV host then rose to fame across Asia after starring as Shan Cai in the hit 2001 Taiwanese drama Meteor Garden.
Hsu’s relationship with Koo also captured public attention. The pair first dated in 1998 before separating. More than two decades later, they reunited following Hsu’s divorce from Chinese businessman Wang Xiaofei, and married in 2022.
Hsu died in February 2025 at the age of 48 after contracting influenza that developed into pneumonia during a family holiday in Japan.
Since her death, Koo has largely stepped back from entertainment activities while mourning his wife.
Source: CNA/iz
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