Rosalind Chao
Rosalind Chao (born September 23, 1959) is an American actress of Chinese heritage. Chao's most notable roles are as South Korean refugee Soon-Lee Klinger on CBS' AfterMASH, as Keiko O'Brien on both Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Dr. Kim on The O.C., Rose Hsu Jordan in The Joy Luck Club (1993), and Hua Li, Mulan’s mother, in the live-action version of Mulan (2020). Chao is married to voice actor Simon Templeman; they have 2 children. She began acting at the age of five in a California-based Peking opera traveling company at the instigation of her parents who were already heavily involved, and during the summers they sent her to Taiwan to further develop her acting skills. As a child, she played the daughter of a laundry owner (played by James Hong) on the 1970 episode of Here's Lucy entitled "Lucy the Laundress". For some time, Chao worked at Disneyland as an international tour guide. Deciding not to pursue acting, Chao enrolled in the communications department at the University of Southern California where she earned her degree in journalism. However, after spending a year as a radio newswriting intern at the CBS-owned Hollywood radio station KNX, she soon returned to acting. Her big break was with the role of Soon-Lee, a South Korean refugee, in the final episodes of the TV series M*A*S*H. Soon-Lee married longtime starring character Maxwell Klinger (Jamie Farr) in the series finale "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", the most-watched U.S. sitcom television episode of all time as of 2021. Chao continued playing the character in the M*A*S*H sequel series: AfterMASH (1983), her first role billed at co-starring status. Chao regularly portrayed the Japanese exo-botanist Keiko Ishikawa O'Brien on both Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. She was also originally considered for the part of Enterprise security chief Tasha Yar. She's had recurring roles as Miss Chung on season 5 of Diff'rent Strokes, Li Ying on season 5 of Falcon Crest, Dr. Judith Lin on Citizen Baines, Dr. Kim on seasons 1 & 3 of The O.C., Pastor Jin on Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment B, Mrs. Wu on Sin City Saints, Caroline on Better Things, and Tina Tchen on The First Lady. She's guest starred on numerous shows including This is Us, Code Black, The Catch, black-ish, The OA, Hawaii Five-O, Castle, Forever, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Bones, The Event, CSI, Private Practice, Grey's Anatomy, According to Jim, Six Feet Under, The Parkers, Monk, Without a Trace, Dharma & Greg, Once and Again, The West Wing, Family Law, ER, Brimstone, Chicago Hope, Murder She Wrote, thirty something, Jake & the Fatman, Miami Vice, Beauty and the Beast (1988), The A-Team, St. Elsewhere, Riptide, M*A*S*H,One Day at a Time (1981), Emergency!, The Incredible Hulk (1978), Here's Lucy, and more. She has starred in several movies including The Joy Luck Club, North (1994), What Dreams May Come, Impostor, I Am Sam, Freaky Friday (2003), Just Like Heaven, Mulan (2020) as Mulan’s mother, Together Together, and The Starling. In 2019, Chao was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences citing her contributions to critically acclaimed films The Joy Luck Club and I Am Sam.
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Full Filmography
All Credits (144)
Freakier Friday
as Mama P
Sacramento
as Dr. Murray
3 Body Problem
as Ye Wenjie
Not an Artist
as Kimmy
The First Lady
as Tina Tchen
The Starling
as Fawn
Sweet Tooth
as Mrs. Helen Zhang
Together Together
as Dr. Andrews
Magic Camp
as Lorraine (uncredited)
The L Word: Generation Q
as Grace Lee
The Laundromat
as Gu Kailai
Plus One
as Angela Mori
Tragedy Girls
as Mayor Campbell
The OA
as Patricia Knoller
This Is Us
as Anna
Better Things
as Caroline
The Catch
as Kohana Takashi
Code Black
as Jae Eun
The Muppets
as Woman #1
Sin City Saints
as Mrs. Wu
Stockholm, Pennsylvania
as Dr. Andrews
black-ish
as Dr. Stone
Forever
as Frenchman
Intelligence
as Sheng-Li Wang
Knife Fight
as Kate - Focus Group Moderator
The Neighbors
as Barb Hartley
Ruth & Erica
as Helen
Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23
as Pastor Jin
Shameless
as Doctor
Hawaii Five-0
as Governor Keiko Mahoe
The Event
as Doctor
Trauma
as Therapist
Castle
as Mimi Tan
Private Practice
as Lillie Jordan
Tell Me You Love Me
as Cynthia
Nanking
as Chang Yu Zheng
Ben 10
as Councilwoman Liang (voice)
Just Like Heaven
as Fran
Bones
as Mandy Oh
Grey's Anatomy
as Kathleen Patterson
Life of the Party
as Mei Lin
W.I.T.C.H.
as Joan Lin / Mandy (voice)
Center of the Universe
as Dr. Geisler
Medical Investigation
as Dr. Kramer
Century City
as Doctor
10-8: Officers on Duty
as Lt. Maggie Chen
Inhabited
as Ms. Montane
Freaky Friday
as Pei-Pei
The O.C.
as Dr. Kim
Without a Trace
as Helen Collins
MDs
as Angela Yuan
Monk
as Arleen Cassidy
I Am Sam
as Lily
Impostor
as Newscaster (uncredited)
According to Jim
as Sally Wu
Three Blind Mice
as Li Mei Chen
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
as Mrs. Zhuang
Citizen Baines
as Judith Lin
The Man from Elysian Fields
as Female Customer
Six Feet Under
as Cindy
Enemies of Laughter
as Carla
Gideon's Crossing
as Claire Hines
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
as Michelle Huntley
The West Wing
as Jane Gentry
Once and Again
as Tami Seitz
Family Law
as Dr. Seabourne
Get Real
as Anne Collins
The Parkers
as Prof. Thornhill
Brimstone
as Nina Chou
What Dreams May Come
as Leona
Dharma & Greg
as Patricia
The End of Violence
as Claire
Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western
as Self
To Love, Honor and Deceive
as Sydney's Best Friend
Arli$$
as Karen
The Daily Show
as Self
Special Report: Journey to Mars
as Dr. Lin Yo Yu
Love Affair
as Lee
ER
as Dr. Theresa Chow
Chicago Hope
as Allison Granger
Under Suspicion
as Unknown
The Magic School Bus
as Mrs. Li (voice)
North
as Chinese Mom
Web of Deception
as Dr. Sheila Prosser
The Joy Luck Club
as Rose Hsu Jordan
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
as Keiko O'Brien
Intruders
as Dr. Jenny Sakai
Memoirs of an Invisible Man
as Cathy DiTolla
Thousand Pieces of Gold
as Lalu / Polly
Against the Law
as Toy Feng
Last Flight Out
as Tra Duong
Denial
as Terry
Drug Wars: The Camarena Story
as Thanh Steinmetz
White Ghost
as Thi Hau
Shooter
as Lan
Slam Dance
as Mrs. Margaret Bell
thirtysomething
as Willa Camden
Star Trek: The Next Generation
as Keiko Ishikawa
Star Trek: The Next Generation
as Keiko O'Brien
Jake and the Fatman
as Elaine Nakasone
Beauty and the Beast
as Lin Wong
Tour of Duty
as Li Kiem
Private Eye
as Kai-Lee
Max Headroom
as Angie Barry
Spies
as Unknown
The Tribulations of a Chinese Gentleman
as 莲花 (Lian Hua)
Jack and Mike
as Holly Sykes
Stingray
as Colette Tran
Murder, She Wrote
as Phoebe Campbell
Miami Vice
as Mai Ying
Riptide
as Lucy
Going Berserk
as Kung Fu Girl
AfterMASH
as Soon-Lee Klinger
The Terry Fox Story
as Rika Noda
The A-Team
as Alice Heath
St. Elsewhere
as Mary Wilson
Bring 'Em Back Alive
as Shala
Moonlight
as Daphne Wu
American Playhouse
as Ku Ling
American Playhouse
as Lalu
Falcon Crest
as Li-Ying Chi
Twirl
as Kim King
An Eye for an Eye
as Linda Chan
The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island
as Hotel Clerk
Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge
as Emily Chan
The Big Brawl
as Mae
Bride of the Incredible Hulk
as Receptionist
Mysterious Island of Beautiful Women
as Flower
The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo
as Leslie Chiu
A Man Called Sloane
as Soom Nuk
The Ultimate Impostor
as Lai-Ping
Diff'rent Strokes
as Miss Chung
Diff'rent Strokes
as Ming Li
How the West Was Won
as Li Sin
The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries
as Lily
Battle of the Network Stars
as Unknown
One Day at a Time
as Gloria
Kojak
as Grace Chen
ABC Afterschool Special
as The Kurmese Ambassador's Daughter
M*A*S*H
as Soon-Lee
Anna and the King
as Princess Serena
Emergency!
as Kathy
Here's Lucy
as Linda Chang Wong
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self