15 Facts About Godfrey Gao

Godfrey Gao was a Taiwanese-Canadian model and actor.

Godfrey Gao was born Tsao Chih-hsiang in Taipei on 22 September 1984.

Godfrey Gao's father is a Taiwanese of Shanghainese descent, and worked as a general manager at Michelin Taiwan; his mother is a Malaysian of Peranakan Chinese descent from George Town who won the Miss Penang beauty pageant in 1970.

The youngest of three boys, Godfrey Gao was moved with his brothers to North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, where his parents raised their boys during his childhood.

Godfrey Gao returned to Taiwan to work as a model in 2004, and was managed by JetStar Entertainment.

Godfrey Gao began appearing in minor roles in Chinese television dramas in 2006, and had his first starring role in the 2010 television drama Volleyball Lover.

Godfrey Gao's starring role in the 2016 drama Remembering Lichuan was widely acclaimed, and earned him the nickname of the "nation's husband" in Chinese media.

Godfrey Gao's other notable credits include the 2015 film Wedding Bible alongside Korean actress Yoo In-na, and the 2017 romantic comedy film Love is a Broadway Hit, alongside Wang Likun, Wang Chuanjun, Yuan Li and Naren Weiss.

On 27 November 2019 at about 1:45 am China Standard Time, Godfrey Gao collapsed in Ningbo while filming Chase Me, a sports reality television series broadcast on Zhejiang Television.

Godfrey Gao was taken to a hospital, where after attempts at resuscitation for nearly three hours, he was pronounced dead.

Godfrey Gao's death was confirmed in a statement on the social media site Sina Weibo by his agency JetStar Entertainment.

The producers of Chase Me said in a statement that Godfrey Gao died from cardiac arrest.

Godfrey Gao's death prompted increased scrutiny of the series, which involves contestants competing in physically strenuous challenges late at night, and of the safety standards of Chinese reality television productions more broadly.

Godfrey Gao had reportedly been filming for 17 hours at the time of his collapse; actor and director Xu Zheng stated that the series' producers "must be held responsible" for what he claimed were poor health and safety conditions.

Godfrey Gao's body was moved to a funeral home in Ningbo on 28 November 2019, and returned to Taiwan on 2 December 2019.