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.
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 MASH. 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 MASH 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, MAS*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.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0001034
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q253578
Facebook: No data
Instagram: https://instagram.com/chao_time
Filmography (Movies)
Freakier Friday
Character:Mama P
Release Date:06/08/2025
Sacramento
Character:Dr. Murray
Release Date:11/04/2025
Not an Artist
Character:Kimmy
Release Date:06/11/2023
The Starling
Character:Fawn
Release Date:17/09/2021
Together Together
Character:Dr. Andrews
Release Date:23/04/2021
Mulan
Character:Hua Li
Release Date:04/09/2020
Magic Camp
Character:Lorraine (uncredited)
Release Date:14/08/2020
The Laundromat
Character:Gu Kailai
Release Date:27/09/2019
Plus One
Character:Angela Mori
Release Date:14/06/2019
Tragedy Girls
Character:Mayor Campbell
Release Date:20/10/2017
Stockholm, Pennsylvania
Character:Dr. Andrews
Release Date:23/01/2015
Knife Fight
Character:Kate - Focus Group Moderator
Release Date:25/01/2013
Nanking
Character:Chang Yu Zheng
Release Date:10/02/2007
Just Like Heaven
Character:Fran
Release Date:16/09/2005
Life of the Party
Character:Mei Lin
Release Date:01/01/2005
Inhabited
Character:Ms. Montane
Release Date:19/08/2003
Freaky Friday
Character:Pei-Pei
Release Date:05/08/2003
I Am Sam
Character:Lily
Release Date:28/12/2001
Impostor
Character:Newscaster (uncredited)
Release Date:03/12/2001
Three Blind Mice
Character:Li Mei Chen
Release Date:30/09/2001
The Man from Elysian Fields
Character:Female Customer
Release Date:13/09/2001
Enemies of Laughter
Character:Carla
Release Date:10/11/2000
What Dreams May Come
Character:Leona
Release Date:02/10/1998
The End of Violence
Character:Claire
Release Date:12/09/1997
Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western
Character:Self
Release Date:27/07/1997
To Love, Honor and Deceive
Character:Sydney's Best Friend
Release Date:15/12/1996
Special Report: Journey to Mars
Character:Dr. Lin Yo Yu
Release Date:25/03/1996
Love Affair
Character:Lee
Release Date:21/10/1994
North
Character:Chinese Mom
Release Date:22/07/1994
Web of Deception
Character:Dr. Sheila Prosser
Release Date:25/04/1994
The Joy Luck Club
Character:Rose Hsu Jordan
Release Date:08/09/1993
Memoirs of an Invisible Man
Character:Cathy DiTolla
Release Date:28/02/1992
Thousand Pieces of Gold
Character:Lalu / Polly
Release Date:26/04/1991
Last Flight Out
Character:Tra Duong
Release Date:22/05/1990
Denial
Character:Terry
Release Date:21/01/1990
White Ghost
Character:Thi Hau
Release Date:18/11/1988
Shooter
Character:Lan
Release Date:11/09/1988
Slam Dance
Character:Mrs. Margaret Bell
Release Date:02/10/1987
The Tribulations of a Chinese Gentleman
Character:莲花 (Lian Hua)
Release Date:13/02/1987
Going Berserk
Character:Kung Fu Girl
Release Date:30/09/1983
The Terry Fox Story
Character:Rika Noda
Release Date:22/05/1983
Moonlight
Character:Daphne Wu
Release Date:14/09/1982
Twirl
Character:Kim King
Release Date:25/10/1981
An Eye for an Eye
Character:Linda Chan
Release Date:14/08/1981
The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island
Character:Hotel Clerk
Release Date:15/05/1981
Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge
Character:Emily Chan
Release Date:09/05/1981
The Big Brawl
Character:Mae
Release Date:18/08/1980
Bride of the Incredible Hulk
Character:Receptionist
Release Date:30/01/1980
Mysterious Island of Beautiful Women
Character:Flower
Release Date:01/12/1979
The Ultimate Impostor
Character:Lai-Ping
Release Date:12/05/1979
Television Appearances
3 Body Problem
Character:Ye Wenjie
The First Lady
Character:Tina Tchen
Sweet Tooth
Character:Mrs. Helen Zhang
The L Word: Generation Q
Character:Grace Lee
The OA
Character:Patricia Knoller
This Is Us
Character:Anna
Better Things
Character:Caroline
The Catch
Character:Kohana Takashi
Code Black
Character:Jae Eun
The Muppets
Character:Woman #1
Sin City Saints
Character:Mrs. Wu
black-ish
Character:Dr. Stone
Forever
Character:Frenchman
Intelligence
Character:Sheng-Li Wang
The Neighbors
Character:Barb Hartley
Ruth & Erica
Character:Helen
Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23
Character:Pastor Jin
Shameless
Character:Doctor
Hawaii Five-0
Character:Governor Keiko Mahoe
The Event
Character:Doctor
Trauma
Character:Therapist
Castle
Character:Mimi Tan
Private Practice
Character:Lillie Jordan
Tell Me You Love Me
Character:Cynthia
Ben 10
Character:Councilwoman Liang (voice)
Bones
Character:Mandy Oh
Grey's Anatomy
Character:Kathleen Patterson
W.I.T.C.H.
Character:Joan Lin / Mandy (voice)
Center of the Universe
Character:Dr. Geisler
Medical Investigation
Character:Dr. Kramer
Century City
Character:Doctor
10-8: Officers on Duty
Character:Lt. Maggie Chen
The O.C.
Character:Dr. Kim
Without a Trace
Character:Helen Collins
MDs
Character:Angela Yuan
Monk
Character:Arleen Cassidy
According to Jim
Character:Sally Wu
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Character:Mrs. Zhuang
Citizen Baines
Character:Dr. Judith Lin
Six Feet Under
Character:Cindy
Gideon's Crossing
Character:Claire Hines
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Character:Michelle Huntley
The West Wing
Character:Jane Gentry
Once and Again
Character:Tami Seitz
Family Law
Character:Dr. Seabourne
Get Real
Character:Anne Collins
The Parkers
Character:Prof. Thornhill
Brimstone
Character:Nina Chou
Dharma & Greg
Character:Patricia
Arli$$
Character:Karen
The Daily Show
Character:Self
ER
Character:Dr. Theresa Chow
Chicago Hope
Character:Allison Granger
Under Suspicion
Character:
The Magic School Bus
Character:Mrs. Li (voice)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Character:Keiko O'Brien
Intruders
Character:Dr. Jenny Sakai
Against the Law
Character:Toy Feng
Drug Wars: The Camarena Story
Character:Thanh Steinmetz
thirtysomething
Character:Willa Camden
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Character:Keiko Ishikawa
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Character:Keiko O'Brien
Jake and the Fatman
Character:Elaine Nakasone
Beauty and the Beast
Character:Lin Wong
Tour of Duty
Character:Li Kiem
Private Eye
Character:Kai-Lee
Max Headroom
Character:Angie Barry
Spies
Character:
Jack and Mike
Character:Holly Sykes
Stingray
Character:Colette Tran
Murder, She Wrote
Character:Phoebe Campbell
Miami Vice
Character:Mai Ying
Riptide
Character:Lucy
AfterMASH
Character:Soon-Lee Klinger
The A-Team
Character:Alice Heath
St. Elsewhere
Character:Mary Wilson
Bring 'Em Back Alive
Character:Shala
American Playhouse
Character:Ku Ling
Falcon Crest
Character:Li-Ying Chi
The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo
Character:Leslie Chiu
A Man Called Sloane
Character:Soom Nuk
Diff'rent Strokes
Character:Miss Chung
Diff'rent Strokes
Character:Ming Li
The Amazing Spider-Man
Character:Emily Chan
The Incredible Hulk
Character:Receptionist
How the West Was Won
Character:Li Sin
The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries
Character:Lily
Battle of the Network Stars
Character:
One Day at a Time
Character:Gloria
Kojak
Character:Grace Chen
ABC Afterschool Special
Character:The Kurmese Ambassador's Daughter
M*A*S*H
Character:Soon-Lee
Anna and the King
Character:Princess Serena
Emergency!
Character:Kathy
Here's Lucy
Character:Linda Chang Wong
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Character:Self
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