Taiwanese actor Barbie Hsu, one of the most prominent stars in the Chinese-speaking world, has died of a flu-related illness at age 48, Taiwan’s official Central News Agency reported Monday, citing her sister.

The ashes of Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu have been brought back to Taiwan, with her family announcing that no funeral will be held in accordance with her wish for privacy.

The ashes of late Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu have been brought home by her mother, sister, and husband. The family flew to Taiwan to retrieve an urn containing Hsu's remains on Feb. 5, reported Taiwanese media Liberty Times . Her husband, Koo Jun Yup, was later seen with the urn at Songshan Airport in Taipei.

Hsu was 48 when she died of pneumonia after contracting influenza while on a trip with her family to Japan. Rumours of her death first spread online on Sunday and was eventually confirmed by her younger sister, Taiwanese entertainer Dee Hsu, on Monday morning, via the latter's manager. Her body was later cremated in Tokyo.

Her ex-husband Wang Xiaofei has been slammed for commenting that he missed her and should have been the one who died. Read more at straitstimes.com.

In an unexpected turn of events, Taiwan actress Barbie Hsu tragically passed away due to health complications at the tender age of 48. The news of Barbie Hsu’s death, reported on February 3, has left the entire entertainment industry in shock,

Barbie Hsu's ashes are now in Taiwan, various media outlets reported on Thursday. Taiwanese newspaper Liberty Times obtained exclusive footage showing an urn of the late actress’ ashes being transported to Taipei Songshan Airport in Taiwan from the Haneda Airport in Japan on February 5.

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwanese actor Barbie Hsu, who rose to fame across East Asia as the romantic lead in the 2001 television drama "Meteor Garden", has died of influenza aged 48, her sister said on Monday.