Early Life
Born and raised in Wuhu, Anhui, China, Zhao is the youngest of two children. Her parents are Zhao Jiahai (Chinese: 赵家海; pinyin: Zhào Jiāhǎi), an appliance designer, and Wei Qiying (Chinese: 魏启颖; pinyin: Wèi Qǐyǐng), a schoolteacher, and her brother is Zhao Jian (Chinese: 赵堅; pinyin: Zhào Jiān; born 1971). She graduated from Teachers’ College Elementary School (Shi Fan Fu Xiao) and Teachers’ College High School (17th Secondary School Shi Fan). Zhao studied dancing for 3 years,piano for 6 years. And her performance of Tibetan dancing was shown as part of a local TV spring festival celebration in 1994.
Zhao has claimed that she never planned to become famous, later explaining, "I thought actresses had to be beautiful, and I thought I was ordinary." When she was 17 years old, a filming crew arrived in Wuhu looking for extras for the film Hua Hun, starring Gong Li. After participating in the filming as an extra, Zhao decided she wanted to act, and left her hometown. She eventually enrolled in a new film arts school in Shanghai, founded by film director Xie Jin. At the age of 20, Zhao received first class results in her entrance exam to Beijing Film Academy's Performance Institute, graduating in 2000.
Read more about this topic: Zhao Wei
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