2006–2012: Beginnings In 2006, Zhao Liying participated in the Yahoo
Search Star Game and became the final winner. She subsequently signed with
Huayi Brothers. 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, she first started to gain recognition from mainland audiences after appearing 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: Breakthrough In 2013, Zhao starred in historical drama
Legend of Lu Zhen, based on the novel
Female Prime Minister (女相) by Zhang Wei, playing an ordinary girl who worked her way up to become the first female prime minister during the
Northern Qi dynasty. 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. Contrary 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 greater heights. Zhao won numerous accolades for her role in
The Journey of Flower, including the
Audience's Choice for Actress at the 28th
China TV Golden Eagle Award. Zhao was also nominated for the
Magnolia Award for Best Actress in a Television Series. and wuxia drama
Legend of Zu Mountain.
2016–present: Mainstream success 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 the female lead,
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 currently the most for a Chinese actor. 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. 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. The same year,
Forbes China named Zhao in their 30 Under 30 Asia 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. On February 10, 2024, the comedy drama film
Article 20 featuring Zhao was released. On February 26, the 17th Asian Film Awards announced that Zhao had won the AFA New Generation Award. ==Other activities==