Who would have thought that at Beijing Airport on June 24, 2023, Zhao Wei, who was once a shining "Chinese superstar", would reappear in the public eye in such a way.
An oversize beige T-shirt with white slacks, a brown shoulder bag casually on his right shoulder, and one hand in his pocket. This dress, no matter how you look at it, doesn't look like the glamorous "little swallow" she once was.
Without a well-groomed style, his hair is slightly frizzy, and his figure is the same as before. This appearance has been 19 months since she suddenly "disappeared" from the Internet world in August 2021. 19 months is not long, but it is enough to make a top star fall from the "altar".
When being watched by fans and the media, Zhao Wei had a slightly embarrassed expression on her face, as if telling that she was no longer familiar with this kind of scene.
I remember when "Huanzhu Gege" became popular, she was a star of film and television songs, and later became a director, and made a hit like "To Our Dying Youth".
Looking at the current situation, it really fulfills the old saying: when the career is going well, there is often a turning point that fate has prepared for you.
If you want to say how Zhao Wei crossed over from an actor to a "big capital player", this matter has to start from 2011.
That year, Zhao Wei smelled the aroma of the capital market and resolutely invested in Tangde Film and Television. This hand played beautifully, not only made a lot of money, but also gave her a taste of the sweetness of capital operation.
Relying on this wave of operations, she successfully squeezed into Ma Yun's circle of friends and became a "financial female boss" in the entertainment industry.
In 2014, Zhao Wei played a big game - a stake in Alibaba Pictures. This time, she directly earned 1 billion Hong Kong dollars! In this way, netizens gave her the title of "female version of Buffett", which made her beautiful.
But people are often the most likely to make mistakes when they are most proud.
If this wave of operations is completed, when shareholders flock to raise the stock price, she will cash out and leave the market, it will be really a million profits! But this matter is unbearable for the regulators.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission directly stopped her, not only did she pay a huge fine, but also gave her a penalty of "5 years of prohibition from entering the securities market".
To put it bluntly, Zhao Wei just got away with it. From an actor to cross-border finance, it was originally dancing on the tip of a knife. The temptation to make quick money is too great, which makes her forget a truth: Wall Street is not a showbiz, and the rules of the game in the capital market are not as simple as acting.
After this battle, not only did she lose her wife and soldiers, but more importantly, her rash advance in the capital market laid a hidden danger for her future fall. As the ancients said: "If you want to hurry, you can't reach it", Zhao Wei took this step too quickly, and the price was too great.
The capital market is like a double-edged sword, which can make you rich overnight or bankrupt overnight. Zhao Wei's story may teach a vivid lesson to other stars in the entertainment industry who want to cross borders.
Speaking of Zhao Wei's acting career, it is really a lot of ups and downs, ups and downs!
Do you still remember the grand occasion when "Huanzhu Gege" was first broadcast? won an average rating of 45% in one fell swoop, and the replay soared to 62. 8%！ This number has created a myth in the entire Chinese film and television industry.
You know, it's hard to keep even 1% of the current TV drama ratings! The role of Xiaoyanzi not only made Zhao Wei popular all over the Taiwan Strait, but also the American dramas "Evil Force" and "Conan Show", which can be said to be in the limelight.
However, success is also Xiao He, and defeat is also Xiao He. In 2001, just when Zhao Wei was proud of the spring breeze, launched an album and filmed "Shaolin Football", a turmoil caused her to fall into a low point in her life.
As soon as the photo of the Japanese military flag was exposed, it immediately detonated the anger of the whole network. You must know that just a few months before the photos were leaked, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi openly "worshipped ghosts" and refused to admit history.
Fortunately, Zhao Wei admitted her mistake and apologized in time, but this stain remained in her acting career forever.
The turning point came in 2008. This year, Zhao Wei and Zhou Xun collaborated on "Painted Skin", which brought her back to the front line. Immediately after 2013, she directed and acted in "To Our Dying Youth", which won 700 million box office in one fell swoop, and was also scored 99 points by her mentor.
However, the good times did not last long, and in 2016, Zhao Wei had another accident. Her new directorial work "No Other Love" chose Dai Liren, who has the "Taiwan independence" controversy, and Mizuhara Kiko, who has the "insulting China" controversy, and the result is a big uproar.
This time she wanted to apologize like before, but unfortunately it was too late, and the film was forced to stop filming.
From this point of view, Zhao Wei's acting career is like a roller coaster: from obscurity to smash hit, from controversy to rebirth, and finally fell into a trough again.
If you want to talk about how Zhao Wei got on this Avenue of Stars, you really have to start from her "amateur" era.
Zhao Wei was born in a small county town in Anhui Province and has never lived with her parents since she was a child. Grandparents are the closest people in her childhood. Later, my grandfather joined the army and died bravely, and my grandmother relied on a job in a water supply plant and moved to Wuhu Second Street with Xiao Zhao Wei.
This experience may have planted the seeds of her tenacious character in the future.
The twist of fate came suddenly. In her freshman year of high school, Zhao Wei played a soy sauce in the movie "Painting Soul", and showed her face with Gong Li and Er Dongsheng.
This ignited her yearning for the entertainment industry.
After graduating from Wuhu Normal School, Zhao Wei did not obediently obey the assignment like other classmates, but chose a more difficult path - applied for the Hengtong Film and Television School founded by director Xie Jin.
This step is the right one. With Xie Jin's path, Zhao Wei was successfully admitted to the Performance Department of Beijing Film Academy. In her sophomore year, Qiong Yao came to the school for casting, and she fell in love with the picturesque Zhao Wei at a glance.
In this way, she took over the role of Little Swallow in "Huanzhu Gege".
Who would have thought that this college student, who has not yet graduated, would suddenly become popular across the Taiwan Strait? This is probably the so-called "times make heroes"!
Behind the seemingly smooth journey, there are many coincidences hidden.
But if fate opens a window for you, it may not close a door. No, a bigger storm is already waiting for her in the dark...
If you really want to talk about how Zhao Wei fell from the altar, it was not an overnight thing.
In 2004, a blockbuster news suddenly broke out in the entertainment industry: Zou Xue, the editor-in-chief of the magazine, a pregnant woman, actually accused Zhao Wei of hiring someone to beat her! As soon as this thing came out, it could blow up the pot inside and outside the circle.
At that time, there was also a saying that Zou Xue and Zhao Wei were actually good sisters, but someone gave Zou Xue benefits and asked her to design Zhao Wei to wear a military flag and take pictures.
In the end, this matter was over, but it cast a shadow on Zhao Wei's image.
Later, Zhao Wei and wealthy businessman Huang Hailong got married and had a daughter, and successfully squeezed into Ma Yun's circle of friends, and everything seemed to be developing in a good direction. But who knew that during her relationship, she also got into trouble with Taiwanese gangsters! If it weren't for the elders of the Bamboo Union Gang to mediate, this matter would be a big deal.
But the most fatal blow came from her artist Zhang Moumou. As soon as he became popular, he was taken out to "worship ghosts", and he also said with a smile on his blog that the place was like a vacation.
The tsunami of public opinion came overwhelmingly, and all the controversies of Zhao Wei's past were turned over by netizens. This time, the top is obviously in earnest.
In August 2021, Zhao Wei disappeared from the Internet, and all the works she participated in were taken off the shelves. This disappearance came strangely, not like other artists, but quietly disappeared.
Although it was uploaded on the Internet that she was "imprisoned", judging from the photos of the airport in June this year, this is obviously a rumor.
However, it is certainly not simple to make a top star "evaporate" so suddenly. What red line did Zhao Wei touch? Now we don't know.
But one thing is certain: in this new era, the standards of the entertainment industry are getting higher and higher, and every move of celebrities and artists must stand up to scrutiny.
From "Chinese superstar" to "no such person", Zhao Wei's ups and downs in the past 20 years may have taught us a lesson: no matter how beautiful you are, you must be cautious in your words and deeds; No matter how successful you are, you have to keep the bottom line.