Zhao Liying

Biography

Zhao was born on 16 October 1987 in Langfang, Hebei. She graduated from Langfang School of Electronic Information Engineering, a secondary professional training school.

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.

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.

Zhao 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. She gained more popularity with New My Fair Princess (2011), where she plays Princess Qing'er.

2013–2014: Breakthrough

Zhao achieved breakthrough with Legend of Lu Zhen (2013), where she played 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 was also praised for her portrayal of the character. She won the Favorite New Artist award at the 4th China TV Drama Awards, Most Popular TV Actress award at the 4th LeTV Awards and Favorite New Actress award for the mainland region at the Tudou Young Choice Awards. Zhao then starred in 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.

Zhao further solidified her popularity with several high-rated dramas in 2014, including The Legend of Chasing Fish, Cuo Dian Yuan Yang and Wife's Secret. Zhao also starred in Boss & Me, based on Gu Man’s popular novel Shan Shan Comes to Eat. The romantic comedy was a hit in China, and was earned high ratings overseas. 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.

2015–2016: Mainstream recognition

In 2015, Zhao starred in fantasy-wuxia drama The Journey of Flower. The drama was a huge success in China, achieving a peak rating of 3.89. It is also 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 Best Actress at the 6th Macau International Television Festival, Most Popular Actress at the iQiyi All-Star Carnival, as well as Most Appealing Actress and Special Contribution awards at the 7th TV Drama Awards. She followed with modern workplace drama Best Get Going, which was moderately successful and averaged a rating of 1.2. She then starred in another wuxia drama, Legend of Zu Mountain alongside William Chan.

In 2016, Zhao was invited to star in The Mystic Nine, playing the love interest of William Chan's character. The series was a ratings success, and has accumulated over 10 billion views in total. Zhao won Best Actress at the 3rd Hengdian Wenrong Awards 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 received positive reviews and surpassed 23 billion views, the highest record held by a Chinese drama at that time. The same year, Zhao starred in her first war drama, Rookie Agent Rouge.

On October 16, 2016, Zhao won the Audience's Choice for Actress at the 28th China TV Golden Eagle Award for her performance in The Journey of Flower. 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.

2017–present: Breaking into the big screen

In 2017, Zhao starred in the Han Han-directed film, Duckweed alongside Deng Chao and Eddie Peng. The sleeper hit gained commercial and critical success. She won her first film award, the Students' Choice Award for Favorite Actress at the Beijing College Student Film Festival. She was also cast in Eternal Wave along with Aaron Kwok. The movie is about the operation of Communist Party (CPC) undercover agents operating in Shanghai in the 1930s against the Japanese. Zhao returned to the small screen, starring in historical action series Princess Agents. Princess Agents was a commercial success and received praise for its storyline and performance. At the CCSmart Star Value List Release Ceremony held in July, Zhao was awarded as Most Valuable Actress of the Year. 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 will star in The Monkey King 3, playing the role of the Women Country's Ruler.

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.