Vicki Zhao

Zhao Wei, also known as Vicki Zhao, is a Chinese actress, director, singer, and businesswoman. Recognized as one of China's Four Dan actresses, she initially rose to prominence for her starring role in the television series My Fair Princess. Over her career, she has performed in major television dramas and films, including Romance in the Rain, Shaolin Soccer, Moment in Peking, Painted Skin, Mulan, Dearest, and Tiger Mom. Beyond her acting work, Zhao has released seven musical albums, directed feature films, and held significant commercial ventures, including serving as a major shareholder in Alibaba Pictures.

Born on March 12, 1976, in Wuhu, Anhui, Zhao was raised by her father, an engineer named Zhao Jiahai, and her mother, a primary school teacher named Wei Qiying. Her elder brother, Zhao Jian, later became her business partner. She completed her early education in Wuhu before joining the Xie Jin Heng Tong Star Academy of Performing Arts in 1994. In 1996, she earned the highest nationwide entrance score to enter the Beijing Film Academy, graduating with a bachelor's degree in performing arts in 2000. She later re-enrolled there as a graduate student in 2006 to study film directing, earning her degree in 2012.

Zhao's acting career began in 1993 with a small non-speaking background role in the film A Soul Haunted by Painting. Director Xie Jin subsequently cast her in her first major role in Penitentiary Angel (1996), which led to a leading part in the television show Sisters in Beijing. Her breakthrough occurred when producer Chiung Yao cast her as the main character, Xiao Yanzi, in the 1998 period drama My Fair Princess. The series became a massive international hit, earning her a Golden Eagle Award for Best Actress in 1999. She re-teamed with Chiung Yao for the 2001 hit television drama Romance in the Rain.

Following her television achievements, Zhao transitioned heavily into film. In 2001, she co-starred in Stephen Chow's comedy Shaolin Soccer, followed by appearances in So Close and Chinese Odyssey 2002. She starred in several films in the mid-2000s, receiving a Golden Phoenix Award for Jade Goddess of Mercy and winning both the Golden Goblet Award and a Huabiao Award for A Time to Love (2005). She returned to television for the 2005 hit Moment in Peking, and subsequently starred in high-profile feature films including Red Cliff, Painted Skin, and Mulan, winning a Hundred Flowers Award for the latter.

After a brief break during which she gave birth to her daughter with her husband Huang Youlong, Zhao returned to acting with successful projects like Love and Painted Skin: The Resurrection. In 2013, she made her directorial debut with So Young, which became a critical and box-office hit, earning her the Golden Rooster Award for Best Directorial Debut. She received the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress for her role in Dearest (2014), followed by appearances in Tiger Mom, Hollywood Adventures, and Three, as well as serving on main competition juries at the Venice and Tokyo film festivals. In August 2021, Zhao was blacklisted by the Chinese government, leading to the removal of most of her work from the internet in China.