Zhao Wei is a Chinese film actress and pop singer. Audiences sometimes refer to her by her English name, Vicki Zhao.[1] She is considered one of the "Four Young Dan actresses" in China (四小花旦), along with Xu Jinglei, Zhang Ziyi and Zhou Xun.
After being chosen to work as an extra on a filming set, Zhao developed a love for acting. While studying at Beijing Film Academy, Zhao participated in various film projects. Zhao's breakout role as a leading actress was in Princess Pearl, a Taiwanese television series. In 1999, after Princess Pearl was broadcast, Zhao also began a singing career with her first album, Swallow. After her breakthrough, Zhao has been involved in a number of controversies about her personal and professional lives, including posing in a dress resembling a Japanese war flag. Zhao burst into international stardom in films like Stephen Chow's Shaolin Soccer (2001), So Close (2002) and the epic Warriors of Heaven and Earth (2004). In John Woo's historical epic Red Cliff (2009), she played warrior princess Sun Shangxiang. She gain positive reviews from the Associated Press: "But the biggest surprise in the cast is Chinese actress Zhao Wei, who steals the show with her portrayal of Sun's spunky tomboy sister Sun Shangxiang."