Veteran actress Vivian Wu, widely known for her role as Empress Dowager Chongqing in Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace, has spoken publicly for the first time about the passing of her husband, revealing a deeply personal chapter of her life. In an interview marking her 60th birthday on February 5, Wu calmly shared the news, saying simply, “He has passed away,” without disclosing the exact time or cause of death. According to sources close to the actress, her husband, director Oscar Costo, passed away last year.
In the three years leading up to his death, Wu significantly reduced her public appearances to stay by his side as he battled cancer. Oscar Costo was a Cuban-American producer and director in Hollywood, best known for films such as Shanghai Red and Deep Sea Cruiser 2032. The couple first met in 1993 while working on The Vanished Son and married in 1996, sharing nearly three decades together.
During their marriage, Wu underwent nine rounds of IVF treatments between the ages of 37 and 42, all of which were unsuccessful an experience she has described as her greatest life regret. Although the couple did not have biological children, Wu has maintained a close and loving relationship with her husband’s daughter from a previous relationship.
According to Sinchew, Vivian Wu now lives alone in her Shanghai home. Rather than publicly sharing her grief, she has chosen a quiet path of healing, finding solace in writing poetry, tending to flowers and plants, and gradually returning to film work. In one reflective note, she described filmmaking as “a ritual of growth, from a blank sheet of paper to maturity.”
Born in 1966 in Shanghai, Vivian Wu grew up in an artistic family and was exposed to cinema and performance from a young age. She moved to the United States in the 1980s to study and build her career. In 1987, she appeared as Wenxiu in The Last Emperor, a film that went on to win multiple Academy Awards and brought her wider recognition.
Over the years, Wu has built an acclaimed career across film and television, known for her elegant presence and emotionally compelling performances. Her body of work spans historical epics, dramas, and commercial films, including The Joy Luck Club, Heaven & Earth, The Pillow Book, The Soong Sisters, and Shanghai Red. On television, she has earned praise for her nuanced roles in both historical and contemporary dramas, with Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace standing out as one of her most memorable performances.
Through her quiet resilience and continued dedication to her craft, Vivian Wu is once again stepping forward this time carrying both her grief and her enduring love into the next chapter of her life.
Sources: Ngoisao
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