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Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
September 23, 1957
Place of Birth
Anaheim, California, USA
Also Known As
- Chao Jyalin
- Roslind Chao
- Розалинд Чао
- 赵家玲
- 趙家玲
- روزالیند چائو
Rosalind Chao
1.4 Popularity
Biography
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
Credits
Freakier Friday
as Mama P
2025
6.8
Sacramento
as Dr. Murray
2025
6.1
3 Body Problem
as Ye Wenjie
2024
7.5
Not an Artist
as Kimmy
2023
2.7
The First Lady
as Tina Tchen
2022
5.8
The Starling
as Fawn
2021
6.9
Sweet Tooth
as Mrs. Helen Zhang
2021
7.8
Together Together
as Dr. Andrews
2021
6.4
Mulan
as Hua Li
2020
6.8
Magic Camp
as Lorraine (uncredited)
2020
6.9
The L Word: Generation Q
as Grace Lee
2019
7.6
The Laundromat
as Gu Kailai
2019
6.0
Plus One
as Angela Mori
2019
6.9
Tragedy Girls
as Mayor Campbell
2017
6.0
The OA
as Patricia Knoller
2016
7.5
This Is Us
as Anna
2016
8.2
Better Things
as Caroline
2016
7.2
The Catch
as Kohana Takashi
2016
6.6
Code Black
as Jae Eun
2015
7.8
The Muppets
as Woman #1
2015
7.0
Sin City Saints
as Mrs. Wu
2015
6.0
Stockholm, Pennsylvania
as Dr. Andrews
2015
5.3
black-ish
as Dr. Stone
2014
7.1
Forever
as Frenchman
2014
7.8
Intelligence
as Sheng-Li Wang
2014
6.5
Knife Fight
as Kate - Focus Group Moderator
2013
5.0
The Neighbors
as Barb Hartley
2012
6.3
Ruth & Erica
as Helen
2012
8.0
Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23
as Pastor Jin
2012
6.7
Shameless
as Doctor
2011
8.2
Hawaii Five-0
as Governor Keiko Mahoe
2010
7.8
The Event
as Doctor
2010
6.4
Trauma
as Therapist
2009
7.3
Castle
as Mimi Tan
2009
8.0
Private Practice
as Lillie Jordan
2007
7.5
Tell Me You Love Me
as Cynthia
2007
6.5
Nanking
as Chang Yu Zheng
2007
7.1
Ben 10
as Councilwoman Liang (voice)
2005
8.2
Just Like Heaven
as Fran
2005
7.0
Bones
as Mandy Oh
2005
8.2
Grey's Anatomy
as Kathleen Patterson
2005
8.2
Life of the Party
as Mei Lin
2005
6.1
W.I.T.C.H.
as Joan Lin / Mandy (voice)
2004
7.3
Center of the Universe
as Dr. Geisler
2004
7.0
Medical Investigation
as Dr. Kramer
2004
6.5
Century City
as Doctor
2004
5.0
10-8: Officers on Duty
as Lt. Maggie Chen
2003
7.9
Inhabited
as Ms. Montane
2003
6.4
The O.C.
as Dr. Kim
2003
7.8
Freaky Friday
as Pei-Pei
2003
6.6
Without a Trace
as Helen Collins
2002
7.2
MDs
as Angela Yuan
2002
7.5
Monk
as Arleen Cassidy
2002
8.0
I Am Sam
as Lily
2001
7.6
Impostor
as Newscaster (uncredited)
2001
6.1
According to Jim
as Sally Wu
2001
6.5
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
as Mrs. Zhuang
2001
7.6
Three Blind Mice
as Li Mei Chen
2001
4.8
Citizen Baines
as Dr. Judith Lin
2001
0.0
The Man from Elysian Fields
as Female Customer
2001
5.9
Six Feet Under
as Cindy
2001
8.1
Enemies of Laughter
as Carla
2000
5.5
Gideon's Crossing
as Claire Hines
2000
6.0
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
as Michelle Huntley
2000
7.6
The West Wing
as Jane Gentry
1999
8.2
Once and Again
as Tami Seitz
1999
6.6
Family Law
as Dr. Seabourne
1999
8.2
Get Real
as Anne Collins
1999
7.3
The Parkers
as Prof. Thornhill
1999
8.2
Brimstone
as Nina Chou
1998
7.6
What Dreams May Come
as Leona
1998
7.2
Dharma & Greg
as Patricia
1997
6.4
The End of Violence
as Claire
1997
5.3
Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western
as Self
1997
5.0
To Love, Honor and Deceive
as Sydney's Best Friend
1996
5.8
Arli$$
as Karen
1996
6.7
The Daily Show
as Self
1996
6.4
Special Report: Journey to Mars
as Dr. Lin Yo Yu
1996
5.0
Love Affair
as Lee
1994
5.4
ER
as Dr. Theresa Chow
1994
7.8
Chicago Hope
as Allison Granger
1994
7.2
Under Suspicion
1994
7.5
The Magic School Bus
as Mrs. Li (voice)
1994
7.6
North
as Chinese Mom
1994
5.0
Web of Deception
as Dr. Sheila Prosser
1994
2.2
The Joy Luck Club
as Rose Hsu Jordan
1993
7.1
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
as Keiko O'Brien
1993
7.9
Intruders
as Dr. Jenny Sakai
1992
6.9
Memoirs of an Invisible Man
as Cathy DiTolla
1992
5.9
Thousand Pieces of Gold
as Lalu / Polly
1991
6.8
Against the Law
as Toy Feng
1990
6.0
🎬
Last Flight Out
as Tra Duong
1990
0.0
Denial
as Terry
1990
4.6
Drug Wars: The Camarena Story
as Thanh Steinmetz
1990
6.1
White Ghost
as Thi Hau
1988
4.4
Shooter
as Lan
1988
5.5
Slam Dance
as Mrs. Margaret Bell
1987
4.7
thirtysomething
as Willa Camden
1987
6.1
Star Trek: The Next Generation
as Keiko Ishikawa
1987
8.4
Star Trek: The Next Generation
as Keiko O'Brien
1987
8.4
Jake and the Fatman
as Elaine Nakasone
1987
6.2
Beauty and the Beast
as Lin Wong
1987
7.4
Tour of Duty
as Li Kiem
1987
8.0
Private Eye
as Kai-Lee
1987
4.2
Max Headroom
as Angie Barry
1987
6.8
Spies
1987
0.0
The Tribulations of a Chinese Gentleman
as 莲花 (Lian Hua)
1987
6.0
Jack and Mike
as Holly Sykes
1986
5.0
Stingray
as Colette Tran
1985
7.2
Murder, She Wrote
as Phoebe Campbell
1984
7.5
Miami Vice
as Mai Ying
1984
7.5
Riptide
as Lucy
1984
6.8
Going Berserk
as Kung Fu Girl
1983
5.0
AfterMASH
as Soon-Lee Klinger
1983
5.1
The Terry Fox Story
as Rika Noda
1983
6.1
The A-Team
as Alice Heath
1983
7.5
St. Elsewhere
as Mary Wilson
1982
5.6
Bring 'Em Back Alive
as Shala
1982
5.9
Moonlight
as Daphne Wu
1982
6.0
American Playhouse
as Ku Ling
1982
6.2
Falcon Crest
as Li-Ying Chi
1981
5.5
Twirl
as Kim King
1981
3.5
An Eye for an Eye
as Linda Chan
1981
5.1
The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island
as Hotel Clerk
1981
4.6
Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge
as Emily Chan
1981
5.5
The Big Brawl
as Mae
1980
5.9
Bride of the Incredible Hulk
as Receptionist
1980
6.7
Mysterious Island of Beautiful Women
as Flower
1979
3.1
The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo
as Leslie Chiu
1979
5.1
A Man Called Sloane
as Soom Nuk
1979
5.0
The Ultimate Impostor
as Lai-Ping
1979
5.0
Diff'rent Strokes
as Miss Chung
1978
7.1
Diff'rent Strokes
as Ming Li
1978
7.1
The Amazing Spider-Man
as Emily Chan
1978
6.2
The Incredible Hulk
as Receptionist
1977
7.2
How the West Was Won
as Li Sin
1977
6.9
The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries
as Lily
1977
7.1
Battle of the Network Stars
1976
6.0
One Day at a Time
as Gloria
1975
6.7
Kojak
as Grace Chen
1973
7.0
ABC Afterschool Special
as The Kurmese Ambassador's Daughter
1972
6.4
M*A*S*H
as Soon-Lee
1972
7.9
Anna and the King
as Princess Serena
1972
6.5
Emergency!
as Kathy
1972
7.8
Here's Lucy
as Linda Chang Wong
1968
6.7
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self
1962
7.5
🎬
The Joy Luck Club 2
as Rose Hsu Jordan
N/A
0.0