Vivian Hsu (Chinese: 徐若瑄; pinyin: Xú Ruòxuān; Wade-Giles: Hsu Jo-hsüan; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chhî Jio̍k-soan; Japanese: ビビアン・スー Bibian Sū; born March 19, 1975 in Taichung, Taiwan) is a Taiwanese Mandopop singer, actress, and model who has gained remarkable popularity in East Asia, mainly in Taiwan and Japan.
The second of three children, Hsu was born to a Taiwanese father and Tayal-Taiwanese mothe as Hsu Su-chuan (traditional Chinese: 徐淑娟; pinyin: Xú Shújuān), and used this name until she began her modeling career. Her parents divorced when she was a young child. She attended Taipei Jianxing Elementary School and Taipei Shulinguo Junior High School.
Hsu's career in entertainment industry started after winning first place in a "Talented Beautiful Girl" contest held by Taiwan's CTS in 1990. At that point, she was working by delivering food on her bicycle, and her customers began to recognise her from her television appearances. The same year she joined a musical trio named "Girls' Team" (少女隊). They released two albums, in 1991 and 1992, then broke up. Following this, Hsu started modeling.
As a model, she posed in two photobooks titled Angel (天使心) and Venus.
Angel, published in 1995, was shot in Capri and Sicily.
Venus, published on July 7, 1996, was shot in Mexico and had separate runs in Taiwan and Japan.
Hsu's success in modeling achieved its zenith in July 1996 when she was featured on the cover of two Asian-edition Penthouse magazines (the Japanese edition, and the comparatively low-distribution Hong Kong edition). Like the photobooks, both these items have become very sought after by collectors and fans.
Hsu has continued to model for designers such as Hang Ten, Gucci and Mode Marie, and has modelled in all three of her brief, autobiographical books: Earth Onigiri (2001), Privacy (2001, ISBN 4-88745-060-5), and Wo Ai Taiwan (2002). In addition, most of her musical albums contain substantial inserts featuring new modelling work.
Hsu has appeared in a number of films and television programs both in Taiwan and Japan. She appeared in the ambitious 2006 mainland China-Taiwan-Hong Kong collaboration The Knot, a romance film that takes place between the CCP's takeover of mainland China and the present. Her debut film is Shaolin Popey (1994), a comedy film which became a box office hit in Taiwan and Hong Kong. She also has some experience as a seiyu (voice actress), having voiced Aisha in Gundam SEED for three episodes.
Hsu also starred in two Hong Kong Category III films, Evil Angel and Angel Heart. She played the role of Chao Jiale in Love Storm (2003), alongside Vic Chou and Ken Chu. She also composed and sang the opening theme for this series, Decide to Love You (決定愛你), which was released as a single in 2003. As with many actors and actresses, she appears from time to time in commercials and as spokesperson for various causes. In 2006, Hsu played a role in the film The Shoe Fairy of Do Do, a modern fairy tale.
Some Jay Chou songs that she also wrote lyrics for are as follows:
- Adorable Woman
- Can't Say
- Istanbul
- Love's Cliff
- Simple Love
- Tornado
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Regards;
VK Pandey
