Zhao Liying
Quick Facts
Biography
Zhao Liying (Chinese: 赵丽颖, born 16 October 1987), also known as Zanilia Zhao, is a Chinese actress. She is best known for her roles in television series Legend of Lu Zhen (2013), Boss & Me (2014), The Journey of Flower (2015), The Mystic Nine (2016), Noble Aspirations (2016), Princess Agents (2017) and The Story of Minglan (2018).
Early life
Zhao was born on 16 October 1987 in Langfang, Hebei. She graduated from Langfang School of Electronic Information Engineering, a secondary professional training school. She has said of this period:
I was born in a village, but it was the experience of rural life that strengthened my strong will and gave me a firm and tenacious personality. It is these experiences that have made me who I am today. So I think it is his strong heart, the persistent pursuit of dreams, the perseverance and steadfastness of the profession which you are engaged in, as well as the calmness and stability when facing the vanity that makes a hero.
Career
2006–2012: Beginnings
In 2006, Zhao Liying participated in the Yahoo Search Star Game and became the final winner. She then signed with Huayi Brothers as a new talent. In 2007, Zhao made her acting debut in the family drama Golden Marriage directed by Zheng Xiaolong.
In 2009, Zhao took on her first historical drama role in The Firmament of The Pleiades. The series was broadcast on Japanese channel NHK and earned critical acclaim. Zhao received the Most Popular Actress award at the Chinese Creative Short Video Awards.
In 2010, first started to gain recognition from mainland audiences after starring in The Dream of Red Mansions (2010), based on the novel of the same name by Cao Xueqin. In 2011, Zhao's popularity rose following her role as Princess Qing'er in New My Fair Princess.
2013–2015: Rising popularity and Breakthrough
In 2013, Zhao starred in historical drama Legend of Lu Zhen, playing an ordinary girl who worked her way up to become the first female prime minister. The drama was a hit domestically, and also overseas in South Korea and Japan, leading to increased recognition for Zhao in the region. Zhao won several newcomer and popularity awards at local award ceremonies. The same year, Zhao starred in historical romance film Palace: Lock Sinensis, the fourth and final installment of the Gong series by Yu Zheng. Opposite to her usual sweet and nice image, Zhao plays a scheming and evil princess in the film.
In 2014, Zhao starred in the romantic comedy drama Boss & Me, based on Gu Man’s popular novel Shan Shan Comes to Eat. The series topped ratings in its timeslot in China, and also earned high popularity overseas.Zhao further solidified her popularity with several high rated dramas in 2014, including The Legend of Chasing Fish and Wife's Secret. Zhao's soaring popularity thanks to her various successful acting projects led to her being crowned the "Golden Eagle Goddess"at the 10th China Golden Eagle TV Art Festival, where she performed as the opening act to the ceremony.
In 2015, Zhao starred in xianxia romance drama The Journey of Flower. The drama was a huge success in China, achieving a peak rating of 3.89 and also became the first Chinese drama to surpass 20 billion online views. The success of the drama brought Zhao's career to a greater height. Zhao won numerous accolades for her role in The Journey of Flower, including the Best Actress at the 28th China TV Golden Eagle Award. Zhao was also nominated at the Magnolia Award for Best Actress in a Television Series. The same year, she starred in modern workplace drama Best Get Going, and wuxia drama Legend of Zu Mountain.
2016–present: Mainstream recognition
In 2016, Zhao starred in action adventure drama The Mystic Nine, playing a sassy and haughty heiress. The series was a commercial success, accumulating over 10 billion views in total. Zhao won the Best Actress award at the 3rd Hengdian Film and TV Festival of China for her role. She was then cast as one of the two female leads, Bi Yao in Noble Aspirations, based on the popular novel Zhu Xian written by Xiao Ding. The drama has over 23 billion views online, the highest record held by a Chinese drama at that time. The same year, Zhao starred in her first war drama, Rookie Agent Rouge. VLinkage reported that as of December 2016, Zhao's combined dramas' views have reached over 110 billion views, which is the most views by a Chinese actor at the moment.
In 2017, Zhao starred in the Han Han-directed film, Duckweed alongside Deng Chao and Eddie Peng. The sleeper hit was a commercial and critical success. She won her first film award, the Favorite Actress at the Beijing College Student Film Festival. She then starred in the revolutionary drama film Eternal Wave along with Aaron Kwok, about the operation of Communist Party (CPC) undercover agents operating in Shanghai in the 1930s against the Japanese.Zhao returned to the small screen with historical action drama Princess Agents, playing a slave girl who rises up to become a powerful female general. Princess Agents was a commercial success both domestically and internationally, and held the record as the most watched Chinese television series at that time. Forbes China listed Zhao under their 30 Under 30 Asia 2017 list which comprises 30 influential people under 30 years old who have made substantial effect in their fields.
In 2018, Zhao starred in the fantasy adventure film The Monkey King 3, playing the role of the Women Country's Ruler. Zhao then starred in the historical drama The Story of Minglan produced by Daylight Entertainment. The drama received critical acclaim and topped television ratings with over 2% in its final episodes. Zhao was nominated at the Magnolia Award for Best Actress in a Television Series for the second time.
In 2019, it was announced that Zhao will star as the female lead in the wuxia drama Legend of Fei, based on the novel You Fei by Priest.
Other activities
In 2016, Zhao was named the tourism ambassador of Hebei. The same year, Zhao became the Vice President of Yi Xia Technology.
Zhao unveiled her wax figure at Madame Tussauds Beijing on May 2017. The same year, Zhao was chosen as a brand ambassador for Dior in China.
In March 2019, Zhao announced her partnership with Hesong Media.
Personal life
On October 16, 2018, Zhao announced her marriage to actor Feng Shaofeng on Sina Weibo. On March 8, 2019, Zhao gave birth to a boy.
Discography
Singles
Year | English title | Chinese title | Album | Notes/Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | "Mood" | 心情 | Legend of Lu Zhen OST | with Chen Xiao |
2015 | "Not to Mention" | 不可说 | The Journey of Flower OST | with Wallace Huo |
"You're an Idol" | 你是偶像 | Up Idol theme song | with various artists | |
"Ten Years" | 十年 | Days of Our Own OST | Rendition of Eason Chan's song | |
"Destruction in Chaos" | 乱世俱灭 | Legend of Zu Mountain OST | with Xu Zhian | |
"I Have Never Existed" | 我从来不存在 | with Julia Yue | ||
2016 | "Yearning" | 心念 | Rookie Agent Rouge OST | |
2017 | "Gaze" | 望 | Princess Agents OST | with Zhang Bichen |
"Miss You" | 想你 | with Kris Wu | ||
2018 | "Don't You Know" | 知否知否 | The Story of Minglan OST | with Feng Shaofeng |
Awards and nominations
Major awards | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
2014 | 10th China Golden Eagle TV Art Festival | Golden Eagle Goddess | N/A | Won | |
13th Huading Awards | Best New Actress | Legend of Lu Zhen | Nominated | ||
2015 | 6th Macau International Television Festival | Best Actress | The Journey of Flower | Won | |
2016 | 19th Huading Awards | Best Actress (Contemporary Drama) | Best Get Going | Nominated | |
Best Actress (Ancient Drama) | The Journey of Flower | Nominated | |||
22nd Shanghai Television Festival | Best Actress | Nominated | |||
28th China TV Golden Eagle Award | Best Actress | Won | |||
11th China Golden Eagle TV Art Festival | Most Popular Actress | Nominated | |||
3rd Asia Rainbow TV Awards | Best Actress (Ancient Drama) | Nominated | |||
3rd Hengdian Film and TV Festival of China | Best Actress | The Mystic Nine | Won | ||
2017 | 22nd Huading Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | ||
24th Beijing College Student Film Festival | Favorite Actress | Duckweed | Won | ||
8th Macau International Television Festival | Best Actress | Princess Agents | Nominated | ||
2018 | 9th China Film Director's Guild Awards | Best Actress | Duckweed | Nominated | |
2019 | 25th Shanghai Television Festival | Best Actress | The Story of Minglan | Nominated | |
26th Huading Awards | Best Actress (Historical drama) | Nominated | |||
Golden Bud - The Fourth Network Film And Television Festival | Best Actress | Nominated | |||
Others | |||||
2006 | Search Star Game | N/A | Won | ||
2009 | Chinese Creative Short Video Awards | Most Popular Actress | N/A | Won | |
2013 | Youku Young Choice Awards | Most Popular Actress (Mainland China) | Legend of Lu Zhen | Won | |
4th LeTV Film & TV Awards | Most Popular Actress (TV) | Won | |||
4th China TV Drama Awards | Best New Actress | Won | |||
2014 | 3rd iQiyi All-Star Carnival | Most Popular Actress | Boss & Me | Won | |
6th China TV Drama Awards | Most Popular Actress (Mainland China) | Won | |||
2015 | Weibo Awards Ceremony | Weibo Goddess | Won | ||
4th iQiyi All-Star Carnival | Most Popular Actress | N/A | Won | ||
Powerstar Award Ceremony | Most Popular Actress | N/A | Won | ||
2nd The Actors of China Award Ceremony | Best Actress (Emerald) | The Journey of Flower | Nominated | ||
7th China TV Drama Awards | Special Contribution Award | N/A | Won | ||
Actress with the Most Ratings Appeal | N/A | Won | |||
2016 | Weibo Awards Ceremony | Most Popular Actress | N/A | Won | |
Weibo Queen | N/A | Won | |||
Tencent Star App | Most Popular Actress | N/A | Won | ||
Chengdu Economic Daily Readers' Reputation Ranking | Television Actress of the Year | N/A | Won | ||
Chinese Campus Art Glory Festival | Most Popular Actress | N/A | Won | ||
5th iQiyi All-Star Carnival | Artist of the Year | The Mystic Nine | Won | ||
Baidu Moments Press Conference | Most Commercially Valuable Female Artist | N/A | Won | ||
10th Tencent Video Star Awards | Most Popular TV Actress | Noble Aspirations | Won | ||
2017 | 2nd China Quality Television Drama Ceremony | Most Talented Actress | Rookie Agent Rouge | Won | |
2nd Weibo Movie Awards Ceremony | Most Anticipated Film Pairing | The Monkey King 3 | Won | ||
6th iQiyi All-Star Carnival | Goddess Award | N/A | Won | ||
11th Tencent Video Star Awards | Television Actress of the Year | Princess Agents | Won | ||
24th Cosmo Beauty Ceremony | Beautiful Idol of the Year | N/A | Won | ||
2018 | 7th iQiyi All-Star Carnival | Goddess Award | N/A | Won | |
2019 | 6th The Actors of China Award Ceremony | Best Actress (Emerald Category) | The Story of Minglan | Nominated | |
Tencent Video All Star Awards | Most Commercially Valuable Artist | N/A | Won | ||
VIP Star | N/A | Won | |||
2020 | Weibo Awards Ceremony | Influential Actor of the Year | N/A | Won | |
China Literature Awards Ceremony | Actress of the Year | N/A | Won |
Forbes China Celebrity 100
Year | Rank | Ref. |
---|---|---|
2014 | 80th | |
2015 | 43rd | |
2017 | 4th | |
2019 | 15th |