70 Facts About Zhao Wei

Zhao Wei, known as Vicky Zhao or Vicki Zhao, is a Chinese actress, singer, filmmaker, and businesswoman.

Zhao Wei is a singer with 7 albums and the second largest shareholder of Alibaba Pictures, the film division of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings.

Zhao Wei ranked 80th on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list in 2013,22nd in 2014,7th in 2015, and 28th in 2017.

Since 27 August 2021, Zhao Wei has been blacklisted by the Chinese government for unknown reasons, with most content featuring her removed from the Chinese Internet.

Zhao Wei received training in piano, dance, and Chinese ink wash painting.

In 1993, while Zhao Wei was a student at Wuhu Normal School, the movie A Soul Haunted by Painting, directed by Huang Shuqin, starring Gong Li and Derek Yee, was filming in Wuhu.

Zhao Wei was cast in the role of a young prostitute in the brothel where Gong's character worked, her first acting experience.

Zhao Wei appeared briefly at the beginning of the film and had no dialogue.

Zhao Wei developed a strong interest in acting after this first experience, and decided to become an actress.

Zhao Wei was selected by Xie to star in his movie Penitentiary Angel, her first major role.

In 1996, Zhao Wei was admitted to the Beijing Film Academy with the highest entrance examination score nationwide.

Zhao Wei rose to prominence and became a household name overnight.

Zhao Wei is regarded by many as mainland China's first "national idol", and was named one of Taiwan's "Top Ten Most Outstanding Individuals in Television".

Zhao Wei worked with Chiung Yao for the 2001 television series Romance in the Rain, a costume drama set in the 1930s and 1940s.

Zhao Wei soon felt that she had achieved all she could in television and began to shift her career focus from TV to films.

Zhao Wei played an ugly-duckling steamed bun-maker-cum-tai chi-master, a great contrast from the glamorous image she had established for herself in previous roles.

Zhao Wei was nominated at the Chinese Film Media Awards for Best Actress.

In 2002, Zhao Wei played an assassin in So Close, which stars Shu Qi and Karen Mok.

In 2003, Zhao Wei starred in four films: My Dream Girl, Warriors of Heaven and Earth, Green Tea, and Jade Goddess of Mercy.

Zhao Wei was nominated at the 27th Hundred Flowers Award for Best Actress for her performance in Warriors of Heaven and Earth.

In 2004, Zhao Wei was cast to dub the character Princess Fiona for when Shrek 2 was released in China.

Zhao Wei won the Golden Goblet Award for Best Actress at the Shanghai International Film Festival and tied with Zhang Ziyi for the Huabiao Award.

Zhao Wei won Best Actress for the film at the 8th Changchun Film Festival in 2006.

Zhao Wei was nominated at the 26th Flying Apsaras Awards for Outstanding Actress.

In 2006, Zhao Wei made a surprising move by sitting for the national entrance exam for postgraduate studies.

That year, Zhao Wei was ranked No 4 on Forbes 2006 China Celebrity 100 list.

Zhao Wei was selected as the "Most Beautiful Woman" in China through a national vote by Sina.

Zhao Wei then portrayed a cabby in the 2007 film The Longest Night in Shanghai, starring alongside Masahiro Motoki and Dylan Kuo.

Zhao Wei reportedly received a salary of 100,000 yuan per episode.

From 2008 to 2009, Zhao Wei starred in John Woo's historical epic Red Cliff.

Zhao Wei played Sun Shangxiang, the independent-minded sister of warlord Sun Quan, who disguises herself as a male enemy soldier to gather intelligence.

Zhao Wei received two nominations at the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Zhao Wei next appeared in Gordon Chan's horror-adventure film Painted Skin.

In 2009, Zhao Wei played the legendary character Hua Mulan in Jingle Ma's Mulan.

Zhao Wei won the Best Actress Award at the 10th Changchun Film Festival, 30th Hundred Flowers Awards and 19th Shanghai Film Critics Awards for her performance in the film.

Zhao Wei returned from her extended parental leave in 2012, playing, incidentally, a single mother in Love, directed by Doze Niu.

Zhao Wei returned to acting in 2014, playing a countrywoman in the film Dearest, directed by Peter Chan.

Zhao Wei was nominated at the Asian Television Award and Magnolia Award for Best Actress in a Television Series.

In 2016, Zhao Wei played a doctor in Johnnie To's crime thriller film Three.

Zhao Wei began the production for her second directorial work No Other Love.

In March 2018, Zhao Wei was a member of the finale-round jury for the 9th China Film Directors Guild Award.

Zhao Wei was appointed as official spokesperson of the 12th Xining FIRST International Film Festival.

On 27 August 2021, all films and television dramas featuring Zhao Wei disappeared from Chinese video streaming services like Tencent Video and iQiyi.

On 28 August 2021, Zhao Wei was reported to have left China for France, where she owned the Chateau Monlot.

In June 2022, Zhao Wei revealed on Instagram Stories that her father had passed away.

Videos on Bilibili featuring Zhao Wei were no longer blurred, and streaming platforms restored the television drama Records of Kangxi's Travel Incognito 2, in which she plays a role in one of the multi-episode story arcs.

Zhao Wei, who had been a shareholder in as many as 17 companies spanning industries, kept only one studio under her name by June 2024, with her investment and business footprint significantly reduced.

Zhao Wei's company had been planning to acquire Zhejiang Sunriver Culture Co since late 2016, when it was then named Zhejiang Wanjia Co, a Shanghai-listed company.

Zhao Wei is a wine lover and has developed a passion for winemaking.

On 16 September 2012, Zhao Wei was admitted into the Jurade de Saint-Emilion.

The Chateau La Croix de la Roche has an annual potential production of 82,000 bottles and is Zhao Wei's first certified organic property.

However, in 1996, Zhao Wei was admitted to the Beijing Film Academy, and the couple eventually parted ways due to the long-distance nature of their relationship.

In 1999, when Zhao Wei was answering a hotline interview for a Beijing newspaper, she was asked about romantic rumors with Fan.

Zhao Wei dismissed the rumors and accused Fan of using her name for publicity.

From 1996 to 2000, Zhao Wei was in a four-year relationship with Chinese-Australian businessman Ye Maoqing, son of property tycoon Ye Lipei.

In early 2001, Zhao Wei confirmed their breakup, citing that she had grown tired of his domineering behavior.

In November 2003, Zhao Wei was reported to be dating Wang Yu, son of Chinese politician Wang Daohan.

In 2007, Zhao Wei was introduced to the Chinese-born Singaporean businessman Huang Youlong through Wang Lin, a self-styled qigong master and psi practitioner who had extensive connections among Chinese celebrities.

Huang, who had little publicly available information before marrying Zhao Wei, has faced persistent speculation about the origins of his wealth, reportedly accumulated around 2000 or 2001 while working for a now-defunct company under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China in Shenzhen.

Zhao Wei has been actively involved in charity and disaster relief work.

In 2001, Zhao Wei shot a group of photos for the August issue of fashion magazine L'Officiel China.

In one photo, Zhao Wei was wearing a designer dress.

On 28 December 2001, during her performance at a concert in Hunan, Zhao Wei was attacked and had feces thrown at her on stage by Fu Shenghua, a construction worker who claimed his grandparents had been killed during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Zhao Wei later became a business partner with Zhao and they opened a bar in Beijing, until it went out of business due to mismanagement, leading to their disputes.

On 28 July 2004, Zhao Wei's driver, Wu Jue, led around 20 people into a Beijing restarunt where Zou, then eight months pregnant, was staying and assaulted her, allegedly saying it was a lesson on behalf of Zhao Wei.

On 25 April 2016, Zhao posted costume photos of the main cast members from her second directorial feature, No Other Love, on Weibo, including Taiwanese actor Leon Dai and Japanese actress Kiko Mizuhara.

From 2013 to 2014, Zhao Wei was the spokeswoman of Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

From 2012 to 2017, Zhao Wei was the official ambassador of Jaeger-LeCoultre.

Since 2018, Zhao Wei has been selected as the official brand ambassador of Burberry.

Since 2020, Italian luxury brand Fendi has announced that Zhao Wei will serve as the brand's spokesperson in China.