Zhao Wei, also known as Vicky Zhao or Vicki Zhao, is a Chinese actress, singer, filmmaker and businesswoman. She rose to pan-Asian fame for her role as Xiaoyanzi in the TV series My Fair Princess (1998–1999), followed by a series of popular films, such as Shaolin Soccer (2001), Red Cliff (2008–2009), Painted Skin (2008), Painted Skin: The Resurrection (2012), and Lost in Hong Kong (2015). She made her directorial debut with So Young (2013), which is a commercial and critical success. She is also a singer with 7 albums and the second largest shareholder of Alibaba Pictures, the film division of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings. Zhao ranked 80th on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list in 2013, 22nd in 2014, 7th in 2015, and 28th in 2017.
Zhao Wei in 2011
Zhao Wei at 2007 Huabiao Award red carpet
On 3 June 2015, Zhao Wei became the first ever Chinese actress to have left her hand-prints and footprints at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
Production still. On 8 April 2016, director Zhao Wei (center) filming her second feature.
My Fair Princess, also known as Return of the Pearl Princess or Princess Returning Pearl, is a 1998–1999 Chinese-Taiwanese period drama jointly produced by Yi Ren Communications Co. (怡人傳播公司) in Taiwan and Hunan Broadcasting System in China. Season 1 (1998) was filmed in 1997, and Season 2 (1999) in 1998–1999. Both seasons were filmed in Beijing, Chengde and the Bashang Plateau in China, and first shown on China Television in Taiwan.
Promotional image of the main cast in 1998 (l-r): Back: Su, Fan and Zhou, Front: Zhao, Zhang and Lin
This tower in Chengde Mountain Resort, Chengde, Hebei was used as a substitute of Shufangzhai (漱芳齋). The real Shufangzhai is in the Forbidden City, Beijing, but the crew could not afford to film there.
Cải lương actress Ngọc Huyền, who portrayed a character based on Xiaoyanzi.
