Wai Ching Ho, the actress known for playing Madame Gao in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has died. She was 82. Word about Wai’s passing began making the rounds early Sunday morning, after her Daredevil co-star, Peter Shinkoda, shared a heartfelt message about her death. Shinkoda shared the screen with Wai’s Madame Gao many times as Kagenobu Yoshioka, the co-founder of Gao’s evil organization, The Hand.
Friends pay tribute to Wai Ching Ho
“Just lost someone very special to me. She was one of the coolest. Thinking aloud,” Shinkoda began in his Instagram post. “I won’t ever forget you. I learned every minute from you when we were together on and off set,” Shinkoda added in a follow-up post. “I know wisdom – I’d hang on your every word. We will meet again, my friend. You were beautiful.”
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Mahira Kakkar, who appeared with Wai in the National Asian American Theatre Company’s 2018 production of Henry VI, also shared her memories of Wai while reflecting on the late actress’s gifts and immense talent. In her post, Kakkar recalled, “I had the enormous good fortune to work with Wai Ching Ho and to share a dressing room with her. She was incredible-warm, funny, caring, joyful, positive and a truly wonderful actor. At the age of 82? 83?” Kakkar continued to honor her friend and mentor by adding, “She played a lead role-basically a female King Lear, and was riveting. She would say to us-Eat two slices of raw ginger every day and you won’t get sick! For those of us who did not have a lot of role models and mentors in the industry Wai was a pillar. I am deeply grateful I got to know her and I am very sad she is gone. She also utterly refused to speak ill of anyone. My dear Wai you deserve all the standing ovations-what a stellar human and a stellar artist. What an example of how to live.”
Wai Ching Ho on screens big and small
Born November 16, 1943, in Japan-occupied Hong Kong, Wai made her onscreen debut in the 1990 Robin Williams comedy Cadillac Man. She continued her film career by shining in films like Soapdish, A Price Above Rubies, Robot Stories, Year of the Fish, Children of Invention, Hustlers, and more.
On the TV and voice-acting side, Wai played Kim in a seven-episode arc on One Life to Live… [and] in recent years, she delighted audiences by voicing Grandma Wu in Pixar’s Oscar-nominated Turning Red and appearing in hits like Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens and Only Murders in the Building. Her most notable role in the past decade is, of course, her portrayal of the insidious Madame Gao in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Madame Gao debuted in Netflix’s version of Daredevil in 2015, and she reprised the character in both Marvel’s Iron Fist (2017) and Marvel’s The Defenders (2017). Known for her quiet calm and deadly motivations, Madame Gao is a stand-out villain of Netflix’s Daredevil series.
Wai’s last role is for a short film titled Here and Again. The project is in post-production, according to IMDb.
We want to extend our condolences to Wai Ching Ho’s family, friends, and fans. She was a powerful presence on screens big and small, and we will miss her.
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