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.
Kathleen Patterson
Michelle Huntley
Governor Keiko Mahoe
Mrs. Zhuang
Keiko Ishikawa
Keiko O'Brien
Mandy Oh
Keiko O'Brien
Doctor
Soon-Lee
Mimi Tan
Anna
Dr. Kim
Phoebe Campbell
Lillie Jordan
Sally Wu
Arleen Cassidy
Helen Collins
Jane Gentry
Prof. Thornhill
Elaine Nakasone
Dr. Theresa Chow
Allison Granger
Alice Heath
Receptionist
Gloria
Karen
Dr. Stone
Mai Ying
Mary Wilson
Li-Ying Chi
Cindy
Li Kiem
Linda Chang Wong
The Kurmese Ambassador's Daughter
Patricia
Councilwoman Liang (voice)
Joan Lin / Mandy (voice)
Kathy
Lucy
Mrs. Li (voice)
Lily
Tami Seitz
Grace Lee
Jae Eun
Grace Chen
Li Sin
Pastor Jin
Willa Camden
Caroline
Barb Hartley
Mrs. Helen Zhang
Dr. Seabourne
Frenchman
Soon-Lee Klinger
Kohana Takashi
Hua Li
Woman #1
Doctor
Patricia Knoller
Lt. Maggie Chen
Shala
Angie Barry
Nina Chou
Sheng-Li Wang
Toy Feng
Miss Chung
Ming Li
Ku Ling
Colette Tran
Tina Tchen
Emily Chan
Leslie Chiu
Soom Nuk
Ye Wenjie
Cynthia
Doctor
Dr. Geisler
Holly Sykes
Kai-Lee
Dr. Kramer
Angela Yuan
Therapist
Anne Collins
Mrs. Wu
Princess Serena
Pei-Pei
Pei-Pei
Claire Hines
Fran
Dr. Judith Lin
Thanh Steinmetz
Helen
Cathy DiTolla
Lily
Leona
Gu Kailai
Dr. Jenny Sakai
Angela Mori
Lin Wong
Fawn
Newscaster (uncredited)
Mae
Rose Hsu Jordan
Chinese Mom
Lorraine (uncredited)
Lee
Dr. Andrews
Linda Chan
Mayor Campbell
Dr. Murray
Female Customer
Emily Chan
Claire
Receptionist
Mrs. Margaret Bell
Dr. Andrews
Kung Fu Girl
Thi Hau
Ms. Montane
Self
Rika Noda
Self
Self
Flower
Terry
Carla
Hotel Clerk
莲花 (Lian Hua)
Li Mei Chen
Chang Yu Zheng
Lalu / Polly
Kimmy
Mei Lin
Kim King
Dr. Lin Yo Yu
Lan
Lai-Ping
Dr. Sheila Prosser
Daphne Wu
Tra Duong
Sydney's Best Friend
Rose Hsu Jordan
Kate - Focus Group Moderator