Rosalind Chao
Rosalind Chao 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.
Known for
Grey's Anatomy
Kathleen Patterson
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Keiko O'Brien
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Mrs. Zhuang
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Michelle Huntley
Bones
Mandy Oh
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Keiko Ishikawa
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Keiko O'Brien
Shameless
Doctor
Hawaii Five-0
Governor Keiko Mahoe
Tour of Duty
Li Kiem
Monk
Arleen Cassidy
One Day at a Time
Gloria
Castle
Mimi Tan
The West Wing
Jane Gentry
This Is Us
Anna
Here's Lucy
Linda Chang Wong
The O.C.
Dr. Kim
Murder, She Wrote
Phoebe Campbell
Without a Trace
Helen Collins
M*A*S*H
Soon-Lee
thirtysomething
Willa Camden
ABC Afterschool Special
The Kurmese Ambassador's Daughter
Jake and the Fatman
Elaine Nakasone
Six Feet Under
Cindy
The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo
Leslie Chiu
Chicago Hope
Allison Granger
ER
Dr. Theresa Chow
The A-Team
Alice Heath
According to Jim
Sally Wu
black-ish
Dr. Stone
Falcon Crest
Li-Ying Chi
Miami Vice
Mai Ying
The Incredible Hulk
Receptionist
Ben 10
Councilwoman Liang (voice)
W.I.T.C.H.
Joan Lin / Mandy (voice)
St. Elsewhere
Mary Wilson
Emergency!
Kathy
The Parkers
Prof. Thornhill
Dharma & Greg
Patricia
The Muppets
Woman #1
Once and Again
Tami Seitz
Private Practice
Lillie Jordan
The L Word: Generation Q
Grace Lee
Riptide
Lucy
How the West Was Won
Li Sin
3 Body Problem
Ye Wenjie
The OA
Patricia Knoller
Kojak
Grace Chen
Better Things
Caroline
Sweet Tooth
Mrs. Helen Zhang
The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries
Lily
American Playhouse
Ku Ling
Intelligence
Sheng-Li Wang
Arliss
Karen
Get Real
Anne Collins
The Magic School Bus
Mrs. Li (voice)
Battle of the Network Stars
Code Black
Jae Eun
Against the Law
Toy Feng
Forever
Frenchman
The Event
Doctor
Family Law
Dr. Seabourne
The Neighbors
Barb Hartley
The Amazing Spider-Man
Emily Chan
The Catch
Kohana Takashi
The First Lady
Tina Tchen
Anna and the King
Princess Serena
Max Headroom
Angie Barry
A Man Called Sloane
Soom Nuk
Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23
Pastor Jin
AfterMASH
Soon-Lee Klinger
10-8: Officers on Duty
Lt. Maggie Chen
MDs
Angela Yuan
Ruth & Erica
Helen
Brimstone
Nina Chou
Bring 'Em Back Alive
Shala
Drug Wars: The Camarena Story
Thanh Steinmetz
Tell Me You Love Me
Cynthia
Sin City Saints
Mrs. Wu
Under Suspicion
Spies
Stingray
Colette Tran
Jack and Mike
Holly Sykes
Private Eye
Kai-Lee
Medical Investigation
Dr. Kramer
Intruders
Dr. Jenny Sakai
Mulan
Hua Li
Center of the Universe
Dr. Geisler
Trauma
Therapist
Freaky Friday
Pei-Pei
Freakier Friday
Pei-Pei
Gideon's Crossing
Claire Hines
Century City
Doctor
Diff'rent Strokes
Miss Chung
Diff'rent Strokes
Ming Li
Citizen Baines
Dr. Judith Lin
Just Like Heaven
Fran
What Dreams May Come
Leona
I Am Sam
Lily
The Laundromat
Gu Kailai
Beauty and the Beast
Lin Wong
Plus One
Angela Mori
North
Chinese Mom
The Joy Luck Club
Rose Hsu Jordan
Memoirs of an Invisible Man
Cathy DiTolla
The Starling
Fawn
Impostor
Newscaster (uncredited)
Tragedy Girls
Mayor Campbell
An Eye for an Eye
Linda Chan
The Big Brawl
Mae
Magic Camp
Lorraine (uncredited)
The Man from Elysian Fields
Female Customer
Sacramento
Dr. Murray
Together Together
Dr. Andrews
Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge
Emily Chan
Love Affair
Lee
Going Berserk
Kung Fu Girl
Slam Dance
Mrs. Margaret Bell
White Ghost
Thi Hau
Twirl
Kim King
Inhabited
Ms. Montane
The Daily Show
Self
Bride of the Incredible Hulk
Receptionist
The End of Violence
Claire
Stockholm, Pennsylvania
Dr. Andrews
Nanking
Chang Yu Zheng
Not an Artist
Kimmy
Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western
Self
The Tribulations of a Chinese Gentleman
莲花 (Lian Hua)
Special Report: Journey to Mars
Dr. Lin Yo Yu
Denial
Terry
Last Flight Out
Tra Duong
The Terry Fox Story
Rika Noda
Life of the Party
Mei Lin
Thousand Pieces of Gold
Lalu / Polly
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
Moonlight
Daphne Wu
Mysterious Island of Beautiful Women
Flower
Enemies of Laughter
Carla
Shooter
Lan
To Love, Honor and Deceive
Sydney's Best Friend
The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island
Hotel Clerk
Web of Deception
Dr. Sheila Prosser
Three Blind Mice
Li Mei Chen
The Ultimate Impostor
Lai-Ping
The Joy Luck Club 2
Rose Hsu Jordan
Knife Fight
Kate - Focus Group Moderator