Taiwanese actress, singer and presenter Gemma Wu has welcomed the new year by marking a new milestone – becoming a mother.
The 35-year-old star, who is also known by her stage name Gui Gui, dropped a surprise announcement on Jan 10 on her social media channels about the birth of her baby. The post came with a picture of her showing her pregnant belly and another of a baby’s feet.
Prior to the announcement, it was not publicly known that Wu was pregnant.
She wrote in Chinese: “Letting myself slow down... so I can properly take a break and birth a life. To two hearts beating and breathing together, to remembering it all, to the courage I showed, to becoming a braver person, to loving you, to working hard for our lives together, to us.”
She did not specify her baby’s gender, but referred to the child with the female version of the Chinese character of “you”, suggesting that it is a girl.
Wu added in English: “Welcome my love to this beautiful world... May my loved ones always find strength, courage and joy.”
She did not reveal the identity of the child’s father or the birth date of her baby. Wu, who is not publicly known to be in a relationship, later wrote in a since-expired Instagram Story: “I’m not married. Please stop asking.”
Her manager told Taiwanese news outlets that she and her child have “begun a new life together as two people in a healthy and peaceful manner”.
In a public appearance in mid-2024, Wu told reporters that she was single.
When asked about the birth, Wu’s close friend, Taiwanese boy band Fahrenheit member Aaron Yan, said: “My loveliest sister has finally fulfilled her wish. All blessings to her.”
Netizens speculate that Wu could have conceived via in-vitro fertilisation with a sperm donor as she had previously expressed her desire for a child.
In 2022, she uploaded a vlog to her YouTube channel which documented her egg-freezing journey. She said then: “No matter who I marry or who I have children with in the future, I hope to preserve the healthiest eggs I have as a form of insurance for myself.”
Wu came to prominence as a cast member of the Taiwanese variety series Blackie’s Teenage Club (2005 to 2009) and the girl group Hey Girl that was formed by members of the series. She went on to act in idol dramas like Mysterious Incredible Terminator (2008 to 2009) and has been a regular cast member of the restaurant operation-themed Taiwanese variety programme Hi! Come In since its first season in 2022.
According to Taiwanese news outlets, she took a leave of absence midway through the show’s fourth season in 2024 and has not been seen at public events since July 2024. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
