Wai Ching Ho, best known for her role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, playing crime boss Madame Gao in Daredevil, Iron Fist and The Defenders, has died. She was 82.
Ho’s death was confirmed by two of her former co-stars, Peter Shinkoda and Judy Lei. Her cause of death wasn’t immediately available.
Shinkoda, who played Nobu in Daredevil, took to his Instagram to pay tribute. “I won’t ever forget you. I learned every minute from you when we were together on and off set. I know wisdom – I’d hang on your every word. We will meet again, my friend. You were beautiful,” he wrote.
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to her rep for more details on her death.
Born on Nov. 16, 1943, in Hong Kong, Ho found herself working across film, television and the stage. Her first onscreen credit was in the series One Life to Live in 1983.
She later landed the role of Madame Gao in the Marvel series Daredevil in 2015, before reprising the character in the spin-offs Iron Fist and The Defenders in 2017.
Ho has also had appearances in Swans Crossing, Wonderland, Deadline, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Children of Invention, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Blue Bloods, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Tracers, Orange Is the New Black, Fresh Off the Boat, New Amsterdam, Hustlers, The World’s Greatest, Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens, Law & Order and Only Murders in the Building, among others.
Her voice could also be recognized for voicing Grandma Wu in the Pixar animated film Turning Red.
As for the stage, Ho starred in the Off-Broadway play Laowang: A Chinatown King Lear last year, as well as Snow in Midsummer in 2022 and Celine Song’s play Endlings in 2020.
Lei, who starred alongside Ho in 2022’s The World’s Greatest, which she also wrote and directed, wrote on Instagram that she’s “so sad to hear of her passing,” adding, “Wai Ching was super kind and generous when she played the Chinese School teacher in my first film back in 2019. We had lost our filming location close to midnight the night before and I broke the news to her in the morning. She came to the new location, all prepped and ready to play—she even brought her own outfit. I forgot to have her sign some paperwork and went to her home a few days later to have her sign it. She never displayed an ounce of disappointment in my lack of experience. That type of grace is something I’ll never forget.”
