Born into a family of opera performers in Baodi County, Tianjin Municipality, Zhao Lirong studied Pingju Opera at the age of eight. She joined the Pingju Opera Troupe of the General Political Department and later moved to the China Pingju Opera Troupe. Zhao created a series of stage figures that were very well received by the audience.

Zhao gave her first performance in her 60s at the 1989 New Year's party, and appeared in other six yearly celebrations ever since. Some of her works won universal praise and Zhao gained a reputation for them in China, which became the highlight of her artistic career. Her first TV performance was in the TV series Pilgrim to the West, and audiences were also very impressed by her performance in the Dream of the Red Mansions. Zhao received the Best Actress Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 1991 for her role in Spend the New Year. She also won the 1992 Baihua Best Actress award, an important national prize awarded annually in China.

In her 60-year career, Zhao was considered an outstanding talent in both opera and films. Zhao died of lung cancer at the age of 73 in 2000.