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).

Zhao ranked 80th on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list in 2014,^[1] 43rd in 2015,^[2] 4th in 2017,^[3] and 15th in 2019.^[4]

Zhao was born on 16 October 1987 in Langfang, Hebei. She graduated from Langfang School of Electronic Information Engineering, a secondary professional training school.^[5] She has said of this period:

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.^[5] In 2007, Zhao made her acting debut in the family drama Golden Marriage.^[7]

In 2009, Zhao took on her first historical drama role in The Firmament of The Pleiades.^[8] The series was broadcast on Japanese channel NHK and earned critical acclaim.^[9][10] Zhao received the Most Popular Actress award at the Chinese Creative Short Video Awards.^[11]

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 her role as Princess Qing'er in New My Fair Princess (2011).^[12]

Zhao then starred in historical drama Legend of Lu Zhen (2013), playing an ordinary girl who worked her way up to become the first female prime minister.^[13][14] The drama was a hit domestically, and also overseas in South Korea and Japan, leading to increased recognition for Zhao in the region.^[15] Zhao won several Newcomer and popularity awards at local award ceremonies.^[16][17][18] 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.^[19]

Zhao further solidified her popularity with several high rated dramas in 2014, including The Legend of Chasing Fish and Wife's Secret.^[20][21] Zhao also starred in Boss & Me, based on Gu Man’s popular novel Shan Shan Comes to Eat.^[22] The romantic comedy was a hit in China, and was earned high ratings overseas.^[23][24] 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.^[25]

In 2015, Zhao starred in xianxia romance drama The Journey of Flower.^[26] 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.^[27] The success of the drama brought Zhao's career to a greater height.^[28] Zhao won numerous accolades for her role in The Journey of Flower,^[29][30][31] including the Best Actress at the 28th China TV Golden Eagle Award.^[32] Zhao was also nominated at the Magnolia Award for Best Actress in a Television Series.^[33] The same year, she starred in modern workplace drama Best Get Going,^[34] and wuxia drama Legend of Zu Mountain.^[35]

In 2016, Zhao starred in action adventure drama The Mystic Nine, playing the love interest of William Chan's character.^[36] The series was a commercial success, accumulating over 10 billion views in total.^[37] Zhao won the Best Actress award at the 3rd Hengdian Film and TV Festival of China for her role.^[38] 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.^[39] The drama has over 23 billion views online, the highest record held by a Chinese drama at that time.^[40][41] The same year, Zhao starred in her first war drama, Rookie Agent Rouge.^[42] 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.^[43]

In 2017, Zhao starred in the Han Han-directed film, Duckweed alongside Deng Chao and Eddie Peng.^[44] The sleeper hit was a commercial and critical success.^[45][46] She won her first film award, the Favorite Actress at the Beijing College Student Film Festival.^[47] 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.^[48][49] 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.^[50] Princess Agents was a commercial success both domestically and internationally, and held the record as the most watched Chinese television series at that time.^[51] 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.^[52]

In 2018, Zhao starred in the fantasy adventure film The Monkey King 3, playing the role of the Women Country's Ruler.^[53] Zhao then starred in the historical drama The Story of Minglan produced by Daylight Entertainment.^[54] The drama received critical acclaim and topped television ratings with over 2% in its final episodes.^[55] Zhao was nominated at the Magnolia Award for Best Actress in a Television Series for the second time.^[56]

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.^[57]

In 2016, Zhao was named the tourism ambassador of Hebei.^[58] The same year, Zhao became the Vice President of Yi Xia Technology.^[59]

Zhao unveiled her wax figure at Madame Tussauds Beijing on May 2017.^[60] The same year, Zhao was chosen as a brand ambassador for Dior in China.^[61]

In March 2019, Zhao announced her partnership with Hesong Media.^[62]

On October 16, 2018, Zhao announced her marriage to actor Feng Shaofeng on Sina Weibo.^[63] On March 8, 2019, Zhao gave birth to a boy.^[64]