Wai Ching Ho, best known for portraying the villain Madame Gao in Marvel’s Daredevil, passed away at the age of 82 on July 12, 2026. The news of the veteran actor’s demise was shared by her co-star Peter Shinkoda, who paid a heartfelt tribute to her on social media.
With a career spanning nearly four decades, Wai Ching Ho made a lasting impact across theatre, television, and films. However, the cause of her death has not been revealed yet.
Wai Ching Ho passes away, co-star Peter Shinkoda pays tribute
Actor Peter Shinkoda, who worked with Wai Ching Ho, was among the first to confirm the news of her death. Sharing pictures with her on Instagram, he wrote, “I won’t ever forget you. I learned every minute from you when we were together on and off set. We will meet again, my friend. You were beautiful (sic).” Take a look below:
Actress Mahira Kakkar also remembered Wai Ching Ho with a heartfelt social media tribute. The two actors had shared the stage in the National Asian American Theatre Company’s (NAATCO) off-Broadway production of Shakespeare’s Henry VI in 2018.
Recalling their time together, Mahira wrote, “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.” She further added, “At the age of 82? 83? 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.”
This is a developing story.
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