Rosalind Chao facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rosalind Chao
Chao in 2005
Born	(1957-09-23) September 23, 1957 (age 67) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Education	Pomona College University of Southern California (BA)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1970–present
Spouse(s)	Simon Templeman
Children	2

Rosalind Chao (born September 23, 1957) is an American actress. She is famous for playing many different characters on TV and in movies. You might know her as Soon-Lee Klinger from the show AfterMASH, or as Rose Hsu Jordan in the movie The Joy Luck Club.

She also played Keiko O'Brien in the Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine TV series. More recently, she was Dr. Kim on The O.C. and Hua Li, Mulan's mother, in the 2020 live-action movie Mulan. In 2024, she starred as Ye Wenjie in the Netflix show 3 Body Problem.

Growing Up and School

Rosalind Chao was born in Los Angeles, California. She grew up in a town called Anaheim. Her parents were performers in a special kind of Chinese opera called Peking opera.

After moving to Anaheim, her parents opened a successful pancake restaurant near Disneyland. Rosalind helped out at the restaurant from a young age.

She went to Pomona College and then the University of Southern California. There, she studied broadcast journalism and finished her degree in 1978. She even worked as a tour guide at Disneyland! For a while, she thought about becoming a journalist.

Acting Career

Rosalind's parents really encouraged her to act. She started acting when she was only five years old. She performed with her parents' Peking opera group, which traveled around California. During the summer, she even went to Taiwan to learn more about acting.

When she was a child, she appeared on a TV show called Here's Lucy in 1970. She played the daughter of a laundry owner.

Even though she studied journalism, Rosalind decided to go back to acting after working as an intern at a radio station.

Breakthrough Roles

Rosalind's big break came when she played Soon-Lee in the last episodes of the TV show M*A*S*H. Her character, Soon-Lee, was a refugee from South Korea. She married a main character, Maxwell Klinger, in the show's final episode in 1983. This episode was watched by more people than almost any other TV show at the time! Rosalind then continued her role as Soon-Lee in the show's follow-up, AfterMASH.

She also became well-known for playing Keiko O'Brien, a scientist who studies plants from other planets, in the Star Trek TV shows. These included Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

In 2018, Rosalind was chosen to play Mulan's mother, Hua Li, in the live-action Mulan movie. In 2019, she was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This group is famous for giving out the Oscars! She was recognized for her work in movies like The Joy Luck Club and I Am Sam.

Family Life

Rosalind Chao met her husband, Simon Templeman, while they were working together in theater. They have two children, a son and a daughter.

Movies and TV Shows

Rosalind Chao has been in many movies and TV shows over the years. Here are some of them:

Movies

Television Shows

See also

In Spanish: Rosalind Chao para niños