section_path: Career
section_name: Career
paragraph_text: Career
  
  I have seven aunts, and my dad was the only son. When my grandfather was alive, I was a fearless little girl—he was my rock, and I loved him dearly. After he passed, I realized it was my turn to take care of the family. I was lucky to land a commercial acting job at 14, which allowed me to support myself and my loved ones. That's how I became independent. Now that my father is gone, my mom and the three of us sisters take care of one another.
  
  At age 11, Hsu made her first film appearance as an extra in The Sea Plan (1987), directed by Heinrich Wang. At 14, after her sister Dee was scouted while running on the school playground and invited along with their family to audition for a commercial directed by Wayne Peng and featuring singer Chou Chuan-huing, the three Hsu sisters and their mother attended the tryout together. Barbie then began working as a commercial actress, initially and primarily under Peng's direction, to help support the family financially. Her work included a beverage commercial with Takeshi Kaneshiro at age 17, which was also shown in the film The Ring (2002), prior to her enrollment at Taipei Hwa Kang Arts School.
  
  During the commercial audition, the Hsu sisters caught the attention of Chou's label, Famous Records (神采唱片), which first signed Barbie, followed shortly by Dee. Barbie was featured on the variety show Comedian Bump Earth (笑星撞地球) with Chou as his "fan," while the sisters appeared in the music video for Chou's song "Can't Let You Go" (捨不得你走) in 1991. However, before their debut as a pop duo, contractual disputes arose due to a clash between the sisters’ playful personalities and Famous Records founder Chen Kuo-Chin's vision of a more “pure and innocent” image for them, modeled after then-popular singers such as Amber Fang, Gloria Yip, and Vivian Chow. As a result, their first album, Occupy Youth (佔領年輕), was shelved for two years. When it was released in 1994, Chen initially named the duo Do Bi Do Wa (嘟比嘟哇) after one of their songs. However, during their first recording of a variety show, the host mistakenly assumed that one sister was named Do Bi and the other Do Wa. Disliking the name, one day before the agency's formal announcement of the duo's stage name, Hsu sought help from their album's producer, Bing Wang, who subsequently renamed them S.O.S. (Sisters of Shiu), which also led to their respective stage names, Big S and Little S.
  
  Upon their debut, the duo was well received by Taiwanese variety shows during their promotional tour, despite their agency's strong objections to their adoption of a comedic image, which clashed with their intended branding. They gained popularity in 1995 with their bubblegum pop song "Ten-Minute Love" (十分鐘的戀愛) from their second album Best of S.O.S., but their following albums received little notice. In 1995, they attempted to break into the Japanese market with the release of two albums: Occupy Youth, their Taiwanese debut album, was released in Japan on August 19, followed by a best-of compilation on December 16, which featured Japanese versions of songs from their first three Taiwanese albums and four additional Japanese tracks. They also appeared on Fuji TV 's late-night variety show Asia N Beat (アジアNビート). That same year, the duo dabbeled in hosting with two short-lived variety shows, Chao Meng XYZ (超猛XYZ) and Qingchun Baomazai (青春報馬仔). In 1996, with no sign of a career revival, the sisters considered leaving the entertainment industry by opening a clothing store, which would become Shi Mu at Dinghao Mall in Eastern District of Taipei, operated by their older sister from mid-1997 until its closure in early 2004 due to financial losses. The duo also attempted other side ventures in the early 2000s—including another clothing store with Pace Wu and an investment in a dessert shop—both of which failed by 2004.
  
  “Don't put all the eggs in one basket.” That was what I told my younger sister when we were facing some of the toughest moments in our family and career. Back then, we were inseparable. Later, she went into hosting, and I turned to acting. No matter what, one of us had to make it — to support the family. Now we both have families of our own, and we're both able to support the family. I'm grateful that life gave us the courage to fight a good fight. Don't be afraid to make a choice.
  
  By the time of their store Shi Mu opened, however, on the Mid-Autumn Festival in 1996, they were visited by TV producer and manager Wang Wei-Zhong, known as Taiwan's "Godfather of Variety Shows," who offered them hosting gigs. After becoming the first generation of Guess hosts and then terminating their contract with Chen, whose agency banned them from releasing albums under their original group name, they rebranded as A.S.O.S. (Adult Sisters of Shiu) and signed with Wang's Golden Star Entertainment. Following this, the duo shifted their career focus from singing to hosting. They co-hosted Golden Star-produced variety show Guess (1996–2000) with Lung Shao-hua and then Jacky Wu, respectively; entertainment news program 100% Entertainment (1998–2005); variety show Weekend Three Precious Fun (週末三寶Fun) (2001) with Harlem Yu; and cooking show Gourmet Secrets of the Stars (2007–2008). The duo ended their management partnership with Wang Wei-Zhong and established their own studios in 2010, after which Barbie primarily focused on acting in Hong Kong and mainland China, while Dee continued hosting in Taiwan.
  
  As hosts, the duo became known for their casual, intimate, and authentic style, underpinned by a sharp sense of humor, with Barbie often playing the straight man while Dee played the comic. After their initial success on Guess, where they played second fiddle to male hosts, the sisters’ second wind came with entertainment news program 100% Entertainment. They impressed the producers while temporarily filling in for Tu-lin Ho and were subsequently offered the hosting role by GTV founder Yang Teng-kuei, a figure with reputed triad connections who would later become their godfather. As news segments on the show frequently gave way to their lively and sassy banter, the duo blurred the boundaries between their private and public lives, often (over-)sharing personal and family stories—some of the most dramatic unfolding live on air —effectively pioneering a form of reality television avant la lettre in the Chinese-speaking world. Episodes of 100% Entertainment from their tenure found a new audience on social media starting in 2019, when GTV re-aired an edited version.
  
  Musically, after leaving Famous Records in 1997, they mainly focused on hosting and did not release an album for four years, until Pervert Girls (變態少女) in 2001, their first album as A.S.O.S. but also their last as a group. They signed a one-year record deal with a relatively small label Skyhigh Entertainment in exchange for the creative carte blanche over the album, where Barbie and Dee wrote all the compositions and lyrics. Initially produced by Sandee Chan before she was replaced by Mavis Fan, the album was a gothic fantasia that was overlooked upon release, but was later reassessed for its avant-garde experimentation and revived on social media. In 2010, Barbie, Dee, and Mavis Fan debuted Shorty Tall (小小大), a group they had contemplated forming for years, but performed only twice at the Kangsi Concert in Beijing and Shenyang that same year. Barbie, Dee, Mavis and Aya Liu, who sometimes called themselves the Four Sisters (四姐妹) and performed together, released two songs, "Girls' Party" (姐妹們的聚會) in 2001 and "Girls Journey" (姐妹們的旅行) in 2019, both celebrating their friendship. Outside of her group activities, Hsu sporadically released songs, such as the duet "Let Me Love You" (讓我愛你) with Vic Chou, the single "Diamond" (鑽石) with her own lyrics, and the duet "Sweetheart" (心肝寶貝) with Richie Jen, which served as the theme songs for the TV dramas Mars (2004), Summer's Desire (2010) and the film Adventure of the King (2010), respectively. She appeared in music videos, such as Shin 's “Before the Dawn” (黎明之前), Show Lo 's “Self-Hypnosis” (自我催眠) and “Waist Support” (撐腰). She also wrote lyrics for other singers such as Mavis Fan, Josie Ho, and Dee. In 2015, Barbie and Dee reunited for their breakout song, “Ten-Minute Love,” at the live house Legacy Taipei during Dee's first solo concert.
  
  Yes, I admit it. Back when we were filming and Shan Cai started flip-flopping, I went to Director Tsai and said, “Shan Cai is the worst! I can't stand her — how am I supposed to play this?” The director spent forever trying to talk me down: “She's young, she doesn't understand love yet… she's just a regular girl suddenly being chased by two super-hot guys — of course she's confused…” Honestly? Halfway through filming, I really didn't like Shan Cai anymore. But I still did my best to make sure the audience wouldn't hate her too much. Audiences back then were pretty forgiving — and they let Shan Cai off the hook. Who knew the drama would get re-aired decades later and suddenly she's getting called out left and right! I admit it. Shan Cai was kind of a pick-me girl… but I really, really tried to make her likable. That's that.
  
  As an actor, Hsu rose to pan-Asian fame with her leading role of Shan Cai in Meteor Garden (2001), the first TV adaptation of the Japanese comic series Hana Yori Dango, along with boy group F4. Besides the Chinese-speaking world, the show brought her fame in large swathes of East and Southeast Asia, with many countries producing remakes in the following years, including Japan's Boys Over Flowers (2005), South Korea's Boys Over Flowers (2009), China's Meteor Shower (2009) and Meteor Garden (2018), United States's Boys Before Friends (2013), and India's Kaisi Yeh Yaariaan (2014–). The show earned her a nomination for the Best Actress at the 36th Golden Bell Awards and is credited with ushering in the idol drama genre and the golden era of Taiwanese TV shows. Following a sequel Meteor Garden II (2002), Hsu established herself as the first "Queen of Idol Dramas," starring in TV dramas such as Eternity: A Chinese Ghost Story (2003), Mars (2004), where she reunited with F4 member Vic Chou, Corner with Love (2007), for which she was nominated for the Magnolia Award for Best Actress at the 14th Shanghai Television Festival, and Summer's Desire (2010).
  
  Hsu transitioned into films later in her career but found less success compared to television. Her first starring role in a feature film came with the Chinese horror film The Ghost Inside (2005), followed by the Taiwanese films Silk (2006) and My So-Called Love (2008). She broke into Hong Kong film industry with Connected (2008), a remake of the Hollywood thriller Cellular (2004), for which she received a nomination for the Best Actress at the 28th Hong Kong Film Awards. For her two films On His Majesty's Secret Service (2009) and Hot Summer Days (2010), she shared the Best Movie Actress at the 14th China Music Awards with Kelly Lin and Yan Ni. However, for her three films in one year, Future X-Cops (2010), Reign of Assassins (2010), and Adventure of the King (2010), Hsu received the Most Disappointing Actress at the 2nd Golden Broom Awards. The reasoning given was: “Hsu's acting is confusing, with her laughing resembling crying and crying resembling laughing. Her performance feels too modern, overly exaggerated, and lacks emotional depth.”
  
  After marrying Chinese entrepreneur Wang Xiaofei in late 2010, Hsu decided to step back from her career to focus on family life. Nevertheless, she accepted a role in My Kingdom (2011)—a martial arts film she had initially withdrawn from due to radial nerve inflammation that had immobilized her right hand and arm—after the director, Gao Xiaosong, a friend of Wang, successfully lobbied her through him to reconsider. The film, the last she acted in, underperformed at the box office, coinciding with Gao's DUI scandal, which derailed its promotion as he became the first public figure in China to be sentenced for drunk driving following the criminalization of the offense that year. In 2012, two films she had shot in 2010 were released after two years of post-production. For her performance in the monster film Croczilla (2012), she received the Golden Lotus Award for Best Actress at the 4th Macau International Movie Festival, without prior knowledge of the nomination or an invitation to the ceremony, and the Best Actress at the 1st Asian Idol Awards, held by Anhui TV in 2012, a ceremony that was discontinued the following year after its second iteration. Her last theatrical release was the Hong Kong film Motorway (2012), where she received the leading female credit but only made a cameo appearance. Throughout her film career, Hsu faced skepticism regarding her credibility as a serious actress and her perceived lack of bankability as a movie star, but retrospective evaluations of her work improved after she withdrew from acting, recognizing her as one of the few actresses whose film career spanned Greater China, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China.
  
  我不在的時候 你們怎麼說我 說我的好 還是我的壞 我不在的時候 你們怎麼想我 想我的美 還是我的醜 我不在的時候 你們怎麼模仿我 把翅膀變成我的眼睛 還是用筆畫出一個我
  
  When I'm not there, what do you say of me? Do you speak of my goodness, or of my badness? When I'm not there, what do you think of me? Do you recall my beauty, or that I am ugly? When I'm not there, how do you mimic me? Do your wings become my eyes, or your pen sketch out a me?
  
  — Barbie Hsu, from the poem collection Penny Dreadful (2005)
  
  In addition to acting, Hsu published a beauty guide Beauty Queen (美容大王) in 2004, followed by a sequel in 2007. Both books became bestsellers across the Chinese-speaking world and played a major role in popularizing brands such as Kiehl's and SK-II in China, though some of the beauty ideals and techniques they introduced were subject to re-evaluation in later years. Among the many beauty tips she popularized—both in her books and beyond—were the "red wine facial mask" and the use of the hair-loss treatment Rogaine to thicken eyebrows. She co-wrote SOS Chao Meng Qing Chun (SOS超猛青春; 1996) and SOS Tokyo Shopping Map (SOS東京拚裝大地圖; 1998) with Dee, the former about their teenage years and the latter a Japanese fashion and travel guide. She also published Penny Dreadful (蝴蝶飛了; 2005), a collection of poems, and Lao Niang Jia Dao (老娘駕到; 2015), a memoir about motherhood for her first child.
  
  Hsu paused her career after the first year of her marriage, primarily to prepare for motherhood. Following the birth of her first child in 2014, Hsu made several attempts at returning to acting, only to be thwarted by pregnancy, health issues, and the declining opportunities for middle-aged actresses. Her last attempt at acting was a role she volunteered for to support Angie Chai, the producer of Meteor Garden, when Chai's Taiwanese adaptation of the K-drama Our Blues (2022) reportedly fell through in 2024.
  
  Hsu continued to appear in variety shows and advertisements. From 2011 to 2012, and for a short period in 2015, she served as a stand-in host for Dee during the latter's maternity leave and injury leave, respectively, on the variety-comedy talk show Kangsi Coming, where Barbie also frequently appeared as a guest over the years. Since 2017, Hsu had collaborated with the Italian brand C&C Gioielli to design and co-brand a jewelry line. In 2018, she participated in her final film, reprising her role of Elastigirl as a voice actress in Taiwan's dubbed version of the Pixar animated film Incredibles 2. That same year, she hosted Chinese variety show Miss Beauty (Season 1) (Beauty小姐) and participated in the marriage reality show Happiness Trio (Season 1) (幸福三重奏) with her then husband Wang Xiaofei. In 2019, she participated in the Chinese reality dating series Dream Space (Season 2) (戀夢空間) as a commentator and in the travelogue series We Are Real Friends (我們是真正的朋友) with Dee, Mavis Fan and Aya Liu. In 2020, she participated in the Chinese documentary show After Becoming Mother (Season 2) (成為媽媽後). She co-produced the web show Dee's Talk (2021–2022) hosted by Dee, which was nominated for the Golden Bell Award for Best Variety Show.
  
  I have seven aunts, and my dad was the only son. When my grandfather was alive, I was a fearless little girl—he was my rock, and I loved him dearly. After he passed, I realized it was my turn to take care of the family. I was lucky to land a commercial acting job at 14, which allowed me to support myself and my loved ones. That's how I became independent. Now that my father is gone, my mom and the three of us sisters take care of one another.
  
  At age 11, Hsu made her first film appearance as an extra in The Sea Plan (1987), directed by Heinrich Wang. At 14, after her sister Dee was scouted while running on the school playground and invited along with their family to audition for a commercial directed by Wayne Peng and featuring singer Chou Chuan-huing, the three Hsu sisters and their mother attended the tryout together. Barbie then began working as a commercial actress, initially and primarily under Peng's direction, to help support the family financially. Her work included a beverage commercial with Takeshi Kaneshiro at age 17, which was also shown in the film The Ring (2002), prior to her enrollment at Taipei Hwa Kang Arts School.
  
  During the commercial audition, the Hsu sisters caught the attention of Chou's label, Famous Records (神采唱片), which first signed Barbie, followed shortly by Dee. Barbie was featured on the variety show Comedian Bump Earth (笑星撞地球) with Chou as his "fan," while the sisters appeared in the music video for Chou's song "Can't Let You Go" (捨不得你走) in 1991. However, before their debut as a pop duo, contractual disputes arose due to a clash between the sisters’ playful personalities and Famous Records founder Chen Kuo-Chin's vision of a more “pure and innocent” image for them, modeled after then-popular singers such as Amber Fang, Gloria Yip, and Vivian Chow. As a result, their first album, Occupy Youth (佔領年輕), was shelved for two years. When it was released in 1994, Chen initially named the duo Do Bi Do Wa (嘟比嘟哇) after one of their songs. However, during their first recording of a variety show, the host mistakenly assumed that one sister was named Do Bi and the other Do Wa. Disliking the name, one day before the agency's formal announcement of the duo's stage name, Hsu sought help from their album's producer, Bing Wang, who subsequently renamed them S.O.S. (Sisters of Shiu), which also led to their respective stage names, Big S and Little S.
  
  Upon their debut, the duo was well received by Taiwanese variety shows during their promotional tour, despite their agency's strong objections to their adoption of a comedic image, which clashed with their intended branding. They gained popularity in 1995 with their bubblegum pop song "Ten-Minute Love" (十分鐘的戀愛) from their second album Best of S.O.S., but their following albums received little notice. In 1995, they attempted to break into the Japanese market with the release of two albums: Occupy Youth, their Taiwanese debut album, was released in Japan on August 19, followed by a best-of compilation on December 16, which featured Japanese versions of songs from their first three Taiwanese albums and four additional Japanese tracks. They also appeared on Fuji TV 's late-night variety show Asia N Beat (アジアNビート). That same year, the duo dabbeled in hosting with two short-lived variety shows, Chao Meng XYZ (超猛XYZ) and Qingchun Baomazai (青春報馬仔). In 1996, with no sign of a career revival, the sisters considered leaving the entertainment industry by opening a clothing store, which would become Shi Mu at Dinghao Mall in Eastern District of Taipei, operated by their older sister from mid-1997 until its closure in early 2004 due to financial losses. The duo also attempted other side ventures in the early 2000s—including another clothing store with Pace Wu and an investment in a dessert shop—both of which failed by 2004.
  
  “Don't put all the eggs in one basket.” That was what I told my younger sister when we were facing some of the toughest moments in our family and career. Back then, we were inseparable. Later, she went into hosting, and I turned to acting. No matter what, one of us had to make it — to support the family. Now we both have families of our own, and we're both able to support the family. I'm grateful that life gave us the courage to fight a good fight. Don't be afraid to make a choice.
  
  By the time of their store Shi Mu opened, however, on the Mid-Autumn Festival in 1996, they were visited by TV producer and manager Wang Wei-Zhong, known as Taiwan's "Godfather of Variety Shows," who offered them hosting gigs. After becoming the first generation of Guess hosts and then terminating their contract with Chen, whose agency banned them from releasing albums under their original group name, they rebranded as A.S.O.S. (Adult Sisters of Shiu) and signed with Wang's Golden Star Entertainment. Following this, the duo shifted their career focus from singing to hosting. They co-hosted Golden Star-produced variety show Guess (1996–2000) with Lung Shao-hua and then Jacky Wu, respectively; entertainment news program 100% Entertainment (1998–2005); variety show Weekend Three Precious Fun (週末三寶Fun) (2001) with Harlem Yu; and cooking show Gourmet Secrets of the Stars (2007–2008). The duo ended their management partnership with Wang Wei-Zhong and established their own studios in 2010, after which Barbie primarily focused on acting in Hong Kong and mainland China, while Dee continued hosting in Taiwan.
  
  As hosts, the duo became known for their casual, intimate, and authentic style, underpinned by a sharp sense of humor, with Barbie often playing the straight man while Dee played the comic. After their initial success on Guess, where they played second fiddle to male hosts, the sisters’ second wind came with entertainment news program 100% Entertainment. They impressed the producers while temporarily filling in for Tu-lin Ho and were subsequently offered the hosting role by GTV founder Yang Teng-kuei, a figure with reputed triad connections who would later become their godfather. As news segments on the show frequently gave way to their lively and sassy banter, the duo blurred the boundaries between their private and public lives, often (over-)sharing personal and family stories—some of the most dramatic unfolding live on air —effectively pioneering a form of reality television avant la lettre in the Chinese-speaking world. Episodes of 100% Entertainment from their tenure found a new audience on social media starting in 2019, when GTV re-aired an edited version.
  
  Musically, after leaving Famous Records in 1997, they mainly focused on hosting and did not release an album for four years, until Pervert Girls (變態少女) in 2001, their first album as A.S.O.S. but also their last as a group. They signed a one-year record deal with a relatively small label Skyhigh Entertainment in exchange for the creative carte blanche over the album, where Barbie and Dee wrote all the compositions and lyrics. Initially produced by Sandee Chan before she was replaced by Mavis Fan, the album was a gothic fantasia that was overlooked upon release, but was later reassessed for its avant-garde experimentation and revived on social media. In 2010, Barbie, Dee, and Mavis Fan debuted Shorty Tall (小小大), a group they had contemplated forming for years, but performed only twice at the Kangsi Concert in Beijing and Shenyang that same year. Barbie, Dee, Mavis and Aya Liu, who sometimes called themselves the Four Sisters (四姐妹) and performed together, released two songs, "Girls' Party" (姐妹們的聚會) in 2001 and "Girls Journey" (姐妹們的旅行) in 2019, both celebrating their friendship. Outside of her group activities, Hsu sporadically released songs, such as the duet "Let Me Love You" (讓我愛你) with Vic Chou, the single "Diamond" (鑽石) with her own lyrics, and the duet "Sweetheart" (心肝寶貝) with Richie Jen, which served as the theme songs for the TV dramas Mars (2004), Summer's Desire (2010) and the film Adventure of the King (2010), respectively. She appeared in music videos, such as Shin 's “Before the Dawn” (黎明之前), Show Lo 's “Self-Hypnosis” (自我催眠) and “Waist Support” (撐腰). She also wrote lyrics for other singers such as Mavis Fan, Josie Ho, and Dee. In 2015, Barbie and Dee reunited for their breakout song, “Ten-Minute Love,” at the live house Legacy Taipei during Dee's first solo concert.
  
  Yes, I admit it. Back when we were filming and Shan Cai started flip-flopping, I went to Director Tsai and said, “Shan Cai is the worst! I can't stand her — how am I supposed to play this?” The director spent forever trying to talk me down: “She's young, she doesn't understand love yet… she's just a regular girl suddenly being chased by two super-hot guys — of course she's confused…” Honestly? Halfway through filming, I really didn't like Shan Cai anymore. But I still did my best to make sure the audience wouldn't hate her too much. Audiences back then were pretty forgiving — and they let Shan Cai off the hook. Who knew the drama would get re-aired decades later and suddenly she's getting called out left and right! I admit it. Shan Cai was kind of a pick-me girl… but I really, really tried to make her likable. That's that.
  
  As an actor, Hsu rose to pan-Asian fame with her leading role of Shan Cai in Meteor Garden (2001), the first TV adaptation of the Japanese comic series Hana Yori Dango, along with boy group F4. Besides the Chinese-speaking world, the show brought her fame in large swathes of East and Southeast Asia, with many countries producing remakes in the following years, including Japan's Boys Over Flowers (2005), South Korea's Boys Over Flowers (2009), China's Meteor Shower (2009) and Meteor Garden (2018), United States's Boys Before Friends (2013), and India's Kaisi Yeh Yaariaan (2014–). The show earned her a nomination for the Best Actress at the 36th Golden Bell Awards and is credited with ushering in the idol drama genre and the golden era of Taiwanese TV shows. Following a sequel Meteor Garden II (2002), Hsu established herself as the first "Queen of Idol Dramas," starring in TV dramas such as Eternity: A Chinese Ghost Story (2003), Mars (2004), where she reunited with F4 member Vic Chou, Corner with Love (2007), for which she was nominated for the Magnolia Award for Best Actress at the 14th Shanghai Television Festival, and Summer's Desire (2010).
  
  Hsu transitioned into films later in her career but found less success compared to television. Her first starring role in a feature film came with the Chinese horror film The Ghost Inside (2005), followed by the Taiwanese films Silk (2006) and My So-Called Love (2008). She broke into Hong Kong film industry with Connected (2008), a remake of the Hollywood thriller Cellular (2004), for which she received a nomination for the Best Actress at the 28th Hong Kong Film Awards. For her two films On His Majesty's Secret Service (2009) and Hot Summer Days (2010), she shared the Best Movie Actress at the 14th China Music Awards with Kelly Lin and Yan Ni. However, for her three films in one year, Future X-Cops (2010), Reign of Assassins (2010), and Adventure of the King (2010), Hsu received the Most Disappointing Actress at the 2nd Golden Broom Awards. The reasoning given was: “Hsu's acting is confusing, with her laughing resembling crying and crying resembling laughing. Her performance feels too modern, overly exaggerated, and lacks emotional depth.”
  
  After marrying Chinese entrepreneur Wang Xiaofei in late 2010, Hsu decided to step back from her career to focus on family life. Nevertheless, she accepted a role in My Kingdom (2011)—a martial arts film she had initially withdrawn from due to radial nerve inflammation that had immobilized her right hand and arm—after the director, Gao Xiaosong, a friend of Wang, successfully lobbied her through him to reconsider. The film, the last she acted in, underperformed at the box office, coinciding with Gao's DUI scandal, which derailed its promotion as he became the first public figure in China to be sentenced for drunk driving following the criminalization of the offense that year. In 2012, two films she had shot in 2010 were released after two years of post-production. For her performance in the monster film Croczilla (2012), she received the Golden Lotus Award for Best Actress at the 4th Macau International Movie Festival, without prior knowledge of the nomination or an invitation to the ceremony, and the Best Actress at the 1st Asian Idol Awards, held by Anhui TV in 2012, a ceremony that was discontinued the following year after its second iteration. Her last theatrical release was the Hong Kong film Motorway (2012), where she received the leading female credit but only made a cameo appearance. Throughout her film career, Hsu faced skepticism regarding her credibility as a serious actress and her perceived lack of bankability as a movie star, but retrospective evaluations of her work improved after she withdrew from acting, recognizing her as one of the few actresses whose film career spanned Greater China, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China.
  
  我不在的時候 你們怎麼說我 說我的好 還是我的壞 我不在的時候 你們怎麼想我 想我的美 還是我的醜 我不在的時候 你們怎麼模仿我 把翅膀變成我的眼睛 還是用筆畫出一個我
  
  When I'm not there, what do you say of me? Do you speak of my goodness, or of my badness? When I'm not there, what do you think of me? Do you recall my beauty, or that I am ugly? When I'm not there, how do you mimic me? Do your wings become my eyes, or your pen sketch out a me?
  
  — Barbie Hsu, from the poem collection Penny Dreadful (2005)
  
  In addition to acting, Hsu published a beauty guide Beauty Queen (美容大王) in 2004, followed by a sequel in 2007. Both books became bestsellers across the Chinese-speaking world and played a major role in popularizing brands such as Kiehl's and SK-II in China, though some of the beauty ideals and techniques they introduced were subject to re-evaluation in later years. Among the many beauty tips she popularized—both in her books and beyond—were the "red wine facial mask" and the use of the hair-loss treatment Rogaine to thicken eyebrows. She co-wrote SOS Chao Meng Qing Chun (SOS超猛青春; 1996) and SOS Tokyo Shopping Map (SOS東京拚裝大地圖; 1998) with Dee, the former about their teenage years and the latter a Japanese fashion and travel guide. She also published Penny Dreadful (蝴蝶飛了; 2005), a collection of poems, and Lao Niang Jia Dao (老娘駕到; 2015), a memoir about motherhood for her first child.
  
  Hsu paused her career after the first year of her marriage, primarily to prepare for motherhood. Following the birth of her first child in 2014, Hsu made several attempts at returning to acting, only to be thwarted by pregnancy, health issues, and the declining opportunities for middle-aged actresses. Her last attempt at acting was a role she volunteered for to support Angie Chai, the producer of Meteor Garden, when Chai's Taiwanese adaptation of the K-drama Our Blues (2022) reportedly fell through in 2024.
  
  Hsu continued to appear in variety shows and advertisements. From 2011 to 2012, and for a short period in 2015, she served as a stand-in host for Dee during the latter's maternity leave and injury leave, respectively, on the variety-comedy talk show Kangsi Coming, where Barbie also frequently appeared as a guest over the years. Since 2017, Hsu had collaborated with the Italian brand C&C Gioielli to design and co-brand a jewelry line. In 2018, she participated in her final film, reprising her role of Elastigirl as a voice actress in Taiwan's dubbed version of the Pixar animated film Incredibles 2. That same year, she hosted Chinese variety show Miss Beauty (Season 1) (Beauty小姐) and participated in the marriage reality show Happiness Trio (Season 1) (幸福三重奏) with her then husband Wang Xiaofei. In 2019, she participated in the Chinese reality dating series Dream Space (Season 2) (戀夢空間) as a commentator and in the travelogue series We Are Real Friends (我們是真正的朋友) with Dee, Mavis Fan and Aya Liu. In 2020, she participated in the Chinese documentary show After Becoming Mother (Season 2) (成為媽媽後). She co-produced the web show Dee's Talk (2021–2022) hosted by Dee, which was nominated for the Golden Bell Award for Best Variety Show.