Rosalind Chao
Birth : 1957-09-23, Anaheim, California, USA
History
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.
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.
Fawn
A woman adjusting to life after a loss contends with a feisty bird that's taken over her garden — and a husband who's struggling to find a way forward.
Dr. Andrews
When young loner Anna is hired as the surrogate for Matt, a single man in his 40s, the two strangers come to realize this unexpected relationship will quickly challenge their perceptions of connection, boundaries and the particulars of love.
Hua Li
When the Emperor of China issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Chinese Army to defend the country from Huns, Hua Mulan, the eldest daughter of an honored warrior, steps in to take the place of her ailing father. She is spirited, determined and quick on her feet. Disguised as a man by the name of Hua Jun, she is tested every step of the way and must harness her innermost strength and embrace her true potential.
Lorraine (uncredited)
Andy, at the urging of his former mentor and Magic Camp owner Roy Preston, returns to the camp of his youth hoping to reignite his career. Instead, he finds inspiration in his ragtag bunch of rookie magicians.
Gu Kailai
When her idyllic vacation takes an unthinkable turn, Ellen Martin begins investigating a fake insurance policy, only to find herself down a rabbit hole of questionable dealings that can be linked to a Panama City law firm and its vested interest in helping the world's wealthiest citizens amass larger fortunes.
Angela Mori
Longtime single friends Ben and Alice agree to be each other's respective plus one at every wedding they're invited to during a busy summer of wedding fever.
Mayor Campbell
McKayla and Sadie, two death-obsessed teenage girls, use their online show about real-life tragedies to send their small Midwestern town into a frenzy and cement their legacy as modern horror legends.
Dr. Andrews
A young woman is returned home to her biological parents after living with her abductor for 17 years.
Chang Yu Zheng
The story of the rape of Nanking, one of the most tragic events in history. In 1937, the invading Japanese army murdered over 200,000 and raped tens of thousands of Chinese. In the midst of this horror, a small group of Western expatriates banded together to save 250,000. Nanking shows the tremendous impact individuals can make on the course of history.
Fran
Shortly after David Abbott moves into his new San Francisco digs, he has an unwelcome visitor on his hands: winsome Elizabeth Martinson, who asserts that the apartment is hers -- and promptly vanishes. When she starts appearing and disappearing at will, David thinks she's a ghost, while Elizabeth is convinced she's alive.
Mei Lin
A group of friends plan an intervention to help their pal address his drinking problem. Things go awry when the shrink they hired fails to show up
Ms. Montane
After Brad and Meg move to a detached house in need of major repairs after a fire and decades of neglect, they're happy that cheerful teenage son Tyler behaves normally, for puberty. Young daughter Gina's stories about sometimes evil 'fairies' are equally dismissed, but get worse. Self-appointed handyman warns Iver Hagen them for 'things worse than ghosts' and ever scarier things happen. Ma irrationally believes the house bad yet refuses long to have Gina examined by Dr. Werner, who has a patient Olive obsessed by similar trolls. By the time the pieces are fitted, it may be too late.
Pei-Pei
Mother and daughter bicker over everything -- what Anna wears, whom she likes and what she wants to do when she's older. In turn, Anna detests Tess's fiancé. When a magical fortune cookie switches their personalities, they each get a peek at how the other person feels, thinks and lives.
Lily
Sam, a neurodivergent man, has a daughter with a homeless woman who abandons them when they leave the hospital, leaving Sam to raise Lucy on his own. But as Lucy grows up, Sam's limitations as a parent start to become a problem and the authorities take her away. Sam convinces high-priced lawyer Rita to take his case pro bono and in turn teaches her the value of love and family.
Newscaster (uncredited)
A top-secret government weapons designer is arrested by a clandestine government organization on suspicion of being a clone created by the hostile alien race wanting to take over Earth.
Li Mei Chen
A lawyer defends a man he's known since serving together in Vietnam, who has been accused of murdering three Vietnamese immigrants. Now he'll have to fight against a tenacious District Attorney, and evidence connected to the man's wife.
Female Customer
A failed novelist's inability to pay the bills strains relations with his wife and leads him to work at an escort service where he becomes entwined with a wealthy woman whose husband is a successful writer.
Carla
Nerdy-looking Paul (David Paymer) is a neurotic, failed sitcom writer with a lackluster love life. But his best pal (Judge Reinhold) has an idea that might turn things around when he decides to film Paul's life and turn his romantic disasters into a comedic documentary. When a beautiful young director (Rosalind Chao) decides to produce the real-life romantic comedy, Paul realizes that Cupid may be poised with his bow and arrow.
Leona
Chris Neilson dies to find himself in a heaven more amazing than he could have ever dreamed of. There is one thing missing: his wife. After he dies, his wife, Annie killed herself and went to hell. Chris decides to risk eternity in hades for the small chance that he will be able to bring her back to heaven.
Self
Interviews and film clips re-create the glorious history of the American western.
Claire
Mike Max is a Hollywood producer who became powerful and rich thanks to brutal and bloody action films. His ignored wife Paige is close to leaving him. Suddenly Mike is kidnapped by two bandits, but escapes and hides out with his Mexican gardener's family for a while. At the same time, surveillance expert Ray Bering is looking for what happens in the city, but it is not clear what he wants. The police investigation for Max's disappearance is led by detective Doc Block, who falls in love with actress Cat who is playing in ongoing Max's production.
Sydney's Unnamed Friend
Sydnee Carpenter (Vanessa Marcil) is a devoted mother to her young son, and is now accustomed to the puzzling existence of her mysterious, non-communicative husband, Matthew (Thomas Gibson). When her husband and son are suddenly killed in a boating accident, Sydnee's comfortable existence is shattered. Although she is overwhelmed by her grief, Sydnee cannot ignore the strange pieces from her husband's past that continue to make their way into the present. Before long, she suspects that her husband has masterminded an elaborate scheme in order to abandon her and kidnap their son. Unable to convince the authorities of her wild sounding speculations, Sydnee does catch the attention of detective Jim sanders (James Wilder), who may have his own hidden agenda for getting involved with her plight.
Dr. Lin Yo Yu
When the world's first spaceship is close to its goal (Mars), the TV-network GNN begins its live coverage of the last two hours of the mission and then the problems start. The landing-computer malfunctions, the captain Eugene Slader gets very sick and back on Earth it is discovered that big financial corporations have an interest in the failure of the mission - and we, the viewers, can see it all live on television.
Lee
Ex-football star Mike Gambril meets Terry McKay on a flight to Sydney, which is forced to land on a small atoll. They become romantic on board a ship sent to take them to a larger island. They agree to meet in New York three months later to see if the attraction is real. One shows up but the other doesn't. However, a chance meeting brings them together again.
Chinese Mom
Eleven-year-old North has had it with his parents. They are always busy with their careers and don't give North the attention he needs, so he files a lawsuit against them. The judge rules that North should either find new parents or return to his own parents within two months. Thus North starts off on a journey around the world to find parents that really care about him.
Dr. Sheila Prosser
Dr. Philip Pearloff is a prominent forensic psychiatrist, with a beautiful wife and a successful practice. But when he meets a beautiful woman, his loyalty is tested and he is drawn to her advances. After a night of passion, she becomes dangerously obsessed with Pearloff, stalking him at work and invading his home. Then,ina frightening twist, the crazed woman plots her own 'murder' to incriminate the man who spurned her. Now, Phillip must desperately fight a staggering array of incriminating evidence and clear his name, or lose everything he has.
Rose Hsu Jordan
Through a series of flashbacks, four Chinese women born in America and their respective mothers born in feudal China explore their pasts.
Cathy DiTolla
After a freak accident, an invisible yuppie runs for his life from a treacherous CIA official while trying to cope with his new life.
Lalu
In 1880s China, young Lalu is sold into marriage by her impoverished father. Rather than becoming a bride, Lalu ends up in an Idaho gold-mining town, the property of a saloon owner who renames her China Polly and plans to sell her as entertainment for the locals. Refusing to become a whore, Lalu ultimately finds her own way in this strange country filled with white demons.
Tra Duong
Fact based story set in Saigon in April, 1975 shortly after the US combat troops have withdrawn and immediately before the Communist forces over run the city. American citizens try to help South Vietnamese refugees escape on the last commercial flight that will be permitted to leave the city.
Terry
A young woman tries to leave her troubled past behind. She meets her old flame by accident and they fall in love again, but this obsessive relationship threatens to consume them.
Lan
"Shooter," aka Matt Thompson aka Gruwald is a photographer in 1967 Saigon, Vietnam. Working out of a news agency for a major magazine, Thompson gets involved in the lives of the soldiers he meets and "shoots." There's Ngoc, the Vietnamese photo lab tech; Klause, a German photographer swiping Buddhas; Rene, a French photographer who carries an AK-47; Stork, Matt's superstitious roommate who is also a photographer; Rizzo, the irascible editor; Lan, an American-educated Vietnamese reporter and Tracey an embassy worker who is Matt's former flame.
Thi Hau
July '72. Vietnam. Lt. Steve Shepard missing in action. Presumed dead...15 years later he's still there.
Mrs. Margaret Bell
When framed for the murder of a sultry blonde, an underground cartoonist is drawn into a web of corruption, blackmail and deceit.
莲花
The young Chinese heir to millions in the USA is suddenly destitute. He takes out a life insurace policy on himself and assigns his former teacher to kill him.
Kung Fu Girl
John Bourgignon, a drummer-chauffeur engaged to the daughter of a United States senator, encounters a sleazy film director, the leader of an aerobics cult, and other crazed characters in the days leading up to his wedding.
Rika Noda
The true story about the Canadian cancer amputee hero who decided to run across Canada on only one leg to raise money for cancer research.
Daphne Wu
A fast-food delivery man for a New York Chinese restaurant gets involved with international terrorists and is recruited by undercover agents to help track down the leader in this prospective pilot.
Kim King
Best friends compete for the title of "Miss Twirl" (similar to a Miss America contest with the primary category of competition being (what else?) twirling!). The real test, however, is whether their friendship will survive through the contest with the pressure and interference from their parents to win.
Linda Chan
Sean Kane is forced to resign from the San Francisco Police Department's Narcotics Division when he goes berserk after his partner is murdered. He decides to fight alone and follows a trail of drug traffickers into unexpected high places.
Emily Chan
Spider-Man goes to China to help an official accused of World War II treachery. Two episodes of the TV series "Spider Man" edited together and released as a feature.
Lai-Ping
A series pilot about a secret agent who is armed with skills learned by a computer-brain link-up -- lasting only 72 hours at a time -- and is sent to rescue a Russian submarine commander, a defector who has been kidnapped by an agent for another nation.
Hotel Clerk
The Harlem Globetrotters' chartered plane crash lands on the atoll inhabited by the happily marooned Gilligan and fellow castaways, and they all must play basketball against a specially programmed squad of robots controlled by a mad scientist.
Mae
A young Asian American martial artist is forced to participate in a brutal formal street-fight competition.
Flower
The all-male crew of an oil company makes an emergency landing on an island and finds itself at the mercy of a tribe of hostile women programmed to kill all men.
Receptionist
David and Carolyn marry in Hawaii and continue to work to find a cure for both their afflictions in a race against time.
