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.
as Rose Hsu Jordan
as Mama P
as Dr. Murray
as Ye Wenjie(8 eps)
as Kimmy
as Tina Tchen(3 eps)
as Fawn
as Mrs. Helen Zhang(10 eps)
as Dr. Andrews
as Hua Li
as Lorraine (uncredited)
as Grace Lee(1 ep)
as Gu Kailai
as Angela Mori
as Mayor Campbell
as Patricia Knoller(1 ep)
as Anna(1 ep)
as Caroline(6 eps)
as Kohana Takashi(1 ep)
as Jae Eun(2 eps)
as Woman #1(1 ep)
as Mrs. Wu(5 eps)
as Dr. Andrews
as Dr. Stone(1 ep)
as Frenchman(1 ep)
as Sheng-Li Wang(1 ep)
as Kate - Focus Group Moderator
as Barb Hartley(2 eps)
as Helen(1 ep)
as Pastor Jin(4 eps)
as Doctor(1 ep)
as Governor Keiko Mahoe(1 ep)
as Doctor(2 eps)
as Therapist(2 eps)
as Mimi Tan(1 ep)
as Lillie Jordan(1 ep)
as Cynthia(3 eps)
as Chang Yu Zheng
as Councilwoman Liang (voice)(1 ep)
as Fran
as Mandy Oh(1 ep)
as Kathleen Patterson(1 ep)
as Mei Lin
as Joan Lin / Mandy (voice)(1 ep)
as Dr. Geisler(1 ep)
as Dr. Kramer(1 ep)
as Doctor(1 ep)
as Lt. Maggie Chen(4 eps)
as Ms. Montane
as Pei-Pei
as Dr. Kim(6 eps)
as Helen Collins(1 ep)
as Angela Yuan(1 ep)
as Arleen Cassidy(1 ep)
as Lily
as Newscaster (uncredited)
as Sally Wu(1 ep)
as Li Mei Chen
as Mrs. Zhuang(1 ep)
as Judith Lin(3 eps)
as Female Customer
as Cindy(3 eps)
as Carla
as Claire Hines(1 ep)
as Michelle Huntley(1 ep)
as Jane Gentry(1 ep)
as Tami Seitz(1 ep)
as Dr. Seabourne(1 ep)
as Anne Collins(1 ep)
as Prof. Thornhill(1 ep)
as Nina Chou(1 ep)
as Leona
as Patricia(1 ep)
as Claire
as Sydney's Best Friend
as Karen(1 ep)
as Self(1 ep)
as Dr. Lin Yo Yu
as Lee
as Dr. Theresa Chow(1 ep)
as Allison Granger(1 ep)
as Mrs. Li (voice)(2 eps)
as Chinese Mom
as Dr. Sheila Prosser
as Rose Hsu Jordan
as Keiko O'Brien(19 eps)
as Dr. Jenny Sakai(2 eps)
as Cathy DiTolla
as Lalu / Polly
as Toy Feng(1 ep)
as Tra Duong
as Terry
as Thanh Steinmetz(3 eps)
as Thi Hau
as Lan
as Mrs. Margaret Bell
as Willa Camden(1 ep)
as Keiko Ishikawa(1 ep)
as Keiko O'Brien(7 eps)
as Elaine Nakasone(1 ep)
as Lin Wong(1 ep)
as Li Kiem(1 ep)
as Kai-Lee(1 ep)
as Angie Barry(2 eps)
as 莲花 (Lian Hua)
as Holly Sykes(1 ep)
as Colette Tran(1 ep)
as Phoebe Campbell(1 ep)
as Mai Ying(1 ep)
as Lucy(1 ep)
as Kung Fu Girl
as Soon-Lee Klinger(31 eps)
as Rika Noda
as Alice Heath(1 ep)
as Mary Wilson(1 ep)
as Shala(1 ep)
as Daphne Wu
as Ku Ling(1 ep)
as Lalu(1 ep)
as Li-Ying Chi(4 eps)
as Kim King
as Linda Chan
as Hotel Clerk
as Emily Chan
as Mae
as Receptionist
as Flower
as Leslie Chiu(1 ep)
as Soom Nuk(1 ep)
as Lai-Ping
as Miss Chung(7 eps)
as Ming Li(1 ep)
as Emily Chan(2 eps)
as Receptionist(1 ep)
as Li Sin(1 ep)
as Lily(1 ep)
as Self - CBS Team(1 ep)
as Gloria(1 ep)
as Grace Chen(1 ep)
as The Kurmese Ambassador's Daughter(1 ep)
as Soon-Lee(2 eps)
as Princess Serena(1 ep)
as Kathy(1 ep)
as Linda Chang Wong(1 ep)
as Self(1 ep)
