The Four Important Men in Vicki Zhao’s Life
Vicki Zhao (趙薇), who recently celebrated her 37th birthday, has long enjoyed the fame and happiness of being one of mainland China’s most successful actresses. On April 26, her directorial debut film, So Young <致我們終將逝去的青春>, will open in theaters, adding another achievement to her distinguished career. Nevertheless, Vicki is quick to attribute her success to the support and love from her friends and family. Among them can be singled out four men whose influence in Vicki’s life cannot be overlooked and who have been by her side in times of victory and defeat.
The Influential Teacher: Xie Jin
After Vicki graduated from high school in 1994, she attended the Xie Jin Film & Television Art College at Shanghai Normal University. That same year, she landed her first lead role in the movie Penitentiary Angel <女儿谷>, which was directed by Xie Jin (謝晉), the president and eponym of the college. In the following years, Vicki received countless filming invitations for dramas, commercials, and music videos, in which she almost always played the female lead.
Vicki accredits Xie Jin’s school philosophy for her early success. Unlike other arts schools, where there were strict regulations on whether students could accept acting roles, Xie Jin encouraged his students to participate in movies and dramas in order to attain more experience. According to Vicki, he saw performance as “an industry for young people” and did not wish to see “talented youth waste their time on studying outdated theories.”
In 1996, at 20 years of age, Vicki was accepted to the prestigious Beijing Film Academy. A year later, she was cast in the popular TV drama Princess Pearl <還珠格格> as the female lead Xiao Yanzi, widely considered her breakthrough role. Although Xie Jin passed away in 2008, he has left an indelible mark on Vicki’s life, and Vicki herself has said, “Without Xie Jin, there would not be the Vicki you see today.”
The Everlasting Friend: Huang Xiaoming
On her birthday this year, Vicki recorded a television program to promote her upcoming film. To her surprise, her university classmate and fellow actor Huang Xiaoming (黃曉明) showed up at the recording, even though he was on crutches due to a filming injury. With an excited screech, Vicki leaped up and embraced him, because she knew that he had filmed for two nights in a row and slept for only four hours, so he could visit and support her.
In the past, Xiaoming has readily admitted to having a crush on Vicki when they attended the Beijing Film Academy. Although the two were never romantically involved, they became extremely close friends and remain so to this day.
During the recording, Xiaoming’s ongoing adoration of Vicki was apparent to all who were present. He brought with him a large birthday cake, on the surface of which he’d added a few cream figures, commenting, “That female figure is Vicki. In the entire world, you won’t find another pair of big eyes like hers.” After she had a bite of cake, he immediately gave her a cup of water. At the request of fans, he even threw his crutches to one side and swept Vicki up in a hug.
When asked about his appearance during the recording, Xiaoming replied, “Friendship is not meant to be taken out and showed off. When you ought to lend a hand, then you should do so. It’s been 16 years, and as long as Vicki needs it, I will definitely support and help her. It will always be like this.”
After the recording finished, Vicki left a message directed toward Xiaoming on her Sina Weibo: “I was deeply moved yet again. Without stopping to sleep or rest, you hurried from the set in Huairou to the program set. The years of your youth let your charm shine so that it cannot be resisted.” In response, netizens praised their friendship and lamented the fact that Vicki had gotten married and become Mrs. Huang, but her husband was not Huang Xiaoming.
The Career Partner: Chen Kun
While at the Beijing Film Academy, Vicki also had the fortune to befriend mainland Chinese actor Chen Kun (陳坤). Since their graduation, Chen Kun has been involved in both Vicki’s personal and professional life. The two maintain a close friendship and have collaborated in several movies and dramas, even acting as a couple in films such as Mulan <花木蘭> and Painted Skin <畫皮>.
In 2001, after Vicki visited Chen Kun while he was filming in Changsha, rumors began to spread that the two were an item. Chen Kun laughed this off, saying that if they had wanted to go out, they would have done so when they were in school. He became her unofficial spokesman from 2007 to 2008, when Vicki went to Singapore and secretly got married. As the media buzzed with theories about her personal life, Chen Kun stepped forward with the message, “Vicki is doing well. She has not been dumped!”
Their friendship has continued to grow after Vicki’s marriage and pregnancy. Last year, they worked together again in Painted Skin 2: The Resurrection <畫皮2>. Chen Kun attributes their enduring friendship to Vicki’s easygoing nature, “When you’re with her, you will always feel happy. She takes good care of her friends.” Vicki says the two of them are like “close male friends” and that “in the most desperate times, [Chen Kun] will be there.”
The Loving Husband: Huang Youlong
Despite the disdain some may have for female celebrities who married rich men, Vicki has happily enjoyed the past five years of marriage to business tycoon Huang Youlong (黃有龍). Although he initially wished for Vicki to retire from the entertainment industry after their wedding, he is supportive of her wishes to study directing and continue acting.
According to reports, Huang Youlong already has a private plane worth more than 100 million RMB, and his family property is estimated to be more than 200 million. Unlike other successful businessmen, however, he is not a “rich second-generation child” who lives off his parents’ fortune. Rather, his wealth was a result of his own effort in the real estate market.
On Vicki’s birthday this year, Huang Youlong posted a picture of the two of them with their two-year-old daughter, who was born on April 11, 2010. Although Vicki has never commented on her husband in public, her radiant smile when others mention him is enough to express her happiness.
Source: QQ.com
This article is written by Joanna for JayneStars.com.
Awwwwwww such good men she has surrounded herself with. 🙂
Agree, and a good happy story to share. Best wishes to Vicki, friends and family.
Love all your works.
lucky lucky girl to have such good men around her….and cute too. 🙂
Lucky girl. Great friends and husband who are good looking and rich! She just prove to thee world that a woman and a man can have great friendship and zero romance!
I agree with you
Vicki’s been my childhood idol since HZGG. Really like her pairing with Alec Su. She’s a lovable woman, to both men and women I guess.
I remember in the interview early 2000’s she said they are good friends but afterward, I never heard her mentioning their names anymore. Well, people grow apart. Things change.
I just dont understand why Vicki and Alec never remain friends after HZGG
Makes me sad. Alec is closer to Ruby.
oops, I was trying to reply to you, not Eunice.
Alec and ruby are Taiwanese and both continued filming series so they have more opportunities to work together.
Btw, I’m not too sure if you guys follow their weibo, but on Vicki’s birthday, Alec was the first one to wish her happy birthday at midnight, and the first she replied to. And also Ruby posted a photo of her carrying Vicki’s daughter from a few years back, dressed casually and in light make up. If they weren’t close friends, I doubt they would have met up in their free time with her baby in toll, just way too busy to meet up all the time.
She has partner with Chen Kun many times in movies. I hope to see her partner with Huang for once or best of all, put the three of them in a movie. This is my all time wish. Somehow , there are rumours that Chen and Huang are not on good terms now although the three of them are best friends during their university year.
She’s so lucky to have 2 super hot best friends like Huang Xiaoming and Chen Kun, and really rich husband and cute daughter.
HZGG and QSSYMM are all time my favorite dramas. She was so cute and pretty during that time.
I like Viki since her appearance in Stephen Chow’s Shaolin Soccer. I didn’t know who she was back then but knew straight away she has more than the x-factor.
Indeed she’s very fortunate to have two great actors who are not only hot looking but as classmates as well and now bosom pals. Such a shame it’s not HSM she ended up with but I know Xiao Ming is (deep inside) still holding the candle.
Here’s wishing Viki a happy life, successful career and friendship forever.
She was amazing in HZGG but her movie career to me was lacklustre. I always thought she should have been bigger, more wide reaching famous and should have been in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and have Zhang Ziyi’s career. That japanese flag incident really hurt her career and she lied low. I think her fame never recovered to those HZGG days but I suppose she is an actress, and she doesn’t aim for fame. I am still baffled how a fairly intelligent woman could have taken such a bad advice when it came to that damning photoshoot though. Ruby Lin however is to me the more successful between the two in terms of diversity.
I read somewhere before that after the Japs flag incident, Chen Kun was the one who was by her side giving her support and advice on how to handle the matter. She is so lucky to have such a friend. Faye Wong is also her best friend. During her daughter full moon in Singapore, she only invited Faye and Chen Kun to attend the dinner.
Ruby might be more sucessful in work…but Vicki has her own achievements that Ruby still hasn’t (mind the bio-clock is ticking) accomplished yet…a family/kid.
What about her father and brother??? I was shocked to see that they are not on this list. Or is she referring to just others besides them?
Sometimes being close friends for life is even more special and everlasting than being husband and wife.
I never really liked HXM until until I found out they were friends. There’s something heartwarming and genuine about how he came to wish her happy birthday. It’s also nice to see real friendships in a dark and cutthroat industry like the entertainment industry.
I guess it is much easier to be friends or remain with other artists/colleagues who are not vying for the same role or position.
SUPER LIKE this post. its such a happy heart warming piece of news to share with us. Blessed are those with great friend and family!
And such wonderful give and take! The way Vicki made sure she was at Huang Xiao Ming’s bedside while he was so sick and in the hospital even though it meant breaking work commitments.
Oh wait….
That was Angelababy.
I think you’re completely mistaken in your implications about their friendship being one-sided. And in relation to the specific event of Xiaoming’s accident you’re also misinformed, because Vicki did visit him, and accompanied him and was concerned about him, as he himself publicly stated. Obviously that doesn’t contradict the fact of Angelababy being a loving and supporting girlfriend. Why should it?
(BTW, You can save the spitefulness to yourself, there’s no need to spread it around, thanks.)
I apologize. I was unaware that Vicki visited him in the hospital. There is only so much information that I was able to find in English on the subject. I should not have leaped to conclusions. However I could not find any source that said she had visited. I would appreciate if you could direct me to a link.
And I did not mean to be spiteful. But there is precedent for Ming being taken advantage of by selfish women. I site his first girlfriend who left him after he’d been in a serious car crash. Perhaps she had reasons I am not privy to however it seemed like a heartless thing to do.
I’m just saying that I was able to find multiple sources confirming Angelababy’s visit and absolutely none confirming that Vicki had and I did look.