Global InformationZhao Wei information
Zhao Wei | |||||||||||||
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赵薇 | |||||||||||||
 Zhao Wei in 2011 | |||||||||||||
| Born | 12 March 1976[1] Wuhu, Anhui, China | ||||||||||||
| Nationality | Chinese | ||||||||||||
| Other names |
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| Education | Beijing Film Academy (MFA) | ||||||||||||
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1994–2021 | ||||||||||||
| Spouse |
Huang Youlong (m. 2008) | ||||||||||||
| Children | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Awards | See list | ||||||||||||
| Musical career | |||||||||||||
| Genres | Mandopop | ||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 趙薇 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 赵薇 | ||||||||||||
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Zhao Wei (simplified Chinese: 赵薇; traditional Chinese: 趙薇; pinyin: Zhào Wēi; born 12 March 1976),[2] also known as Vicky Zhao or Vicki Zhao, is a Chinese actress, businesswoman, film director, producer and pop singer. She is considered one of the most popular actresses in China and Chinese-speaking regions, and one of the highest paid actresses as well.[3]
While studying at the Beijing Film Academy, Zhao rose to national and regional prominence overnight for her role as Xiaoyanzi ("Little Swallow") in the hit TV series My Fair Princess (1998–1999), for which she also won Golden Eagle Award for Best Actress. My Fair Princess enjoyed unprecedented success in East and Southeast Asian countries, and Zhao was regarded by many as Mainland China's first "national idol" since the economic reform began in 1978.
Zhao has starred in many box-office hits, including Shaolin Soccer (2001), Red Cliff (2008–2009), Painted Skin (2008), Painted Skin: The Resurrection (2012), and Lost in Hong Kong (2015). She has received numerous awards from the Shanghai International Film Festival, Huabiao Awards, Changchun Film Festival, Hundred Flowers Awards and Shanghai Film Critics Awards for films like A Time to Love (2005) and Mulan (2009). In 2014, after an almost two-year break from acting, she appeared in Peter Chan's film Dearest, and won the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award and Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress.
While focusing mostly on films, her works also include television series such as Romance in the Rain (2001), Moment in Peking (2005) and Tiger Mom (2015). She has a music career, starting with her debut album Swallow (1999), and has released seven albums. In 2006, she won the MTV Asia Award for Favorite Artist from Mainland China, for her album Double.
Zhao ranked 80th on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list in 2013,[4] 22nd in 2014,[5] 7th in 2015,[6] and 28th in 2017.[7] In 2016, Zhao was named as member of the main jury at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival. In September 2017, she was named as member of the main competition jury for the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival.
Zhao received her master's degree in film directing from Beijing Film Academy in 2012. Her directorial debut So Young (2013) was both a box office and critical success. It broke the box office record for films directed by female Chinese directors in a week, and eventually became one of the highest-grossing films in China. The movie earned her multiple awards in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, including Golden Rooster Award for Best Directorial Debut, Hundred Flowers Award for Best Director and Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film from Mainland and Taiwan.
On 27 August 2021, all films and television series featuring Zhao disappeared from Chinese video streaming services like Tencent Video and IQIYI, and her Weibo Super Talk was deleted; no formal explanation was given by the Chinese government.[8][9]
- ^ "This Is How Chinese Actress Zhao Wei Maintains Her Youth At 43". 11 January 2019. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
- ^ "This Is How Chinese Actress Zhao Wei Maintains Her Youth At 43". The Singapore Women's Weekly. 11 January 2019. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
- ^ "Beyond Cute". Time. 29 March 2004. Archived from the original on 13 January 2005.
- ^ "2013 Forbes China Celebrity 100 List: Fan Bingbing in Top Spot". JayneStars. 24 April 2013. Archived from the original on 7 July 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ "2014 Forbes China Celebrity List (Full List)". Forbes. 6 May 2014. Archived from the original on 10 May 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ "2015 Forbes China Celebrity List (Full List)". Forbes. 13 May 2015. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ "Actress Fan Bingbing Tops New Forbes China Celebrity List". Forbes. 22 September 2017. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
THRwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "China bars celebrities from showing off wealth and 'extravagant pleasure' on social media, saying pop stars must comply with 'core socialist values'". 23 November 2021. Archived from the original on 24 November 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.