Rosalind Chao

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rosalind Chao
Rosalind Chao at the Just Like Heaven premiere in Los Angeles, California (September 08, 2005)
Born	September 23, 1959 (1959-09-23) (age 48) Anaheim, California, U.S.A.
Occupation	actress
Years active	1972—present
Spouse(s)	Simon Templeman

Rosalind Chao (pronounced /rɒzʌlɪnd tʃaʊ/)^[1] (born September 23, 1959) is an American actress of Chinese descent;^[2] she is married to voice actor Simon Templeman.^[3]

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Re-commitment 2.2 Post-M*A*S*H 2.3 Performance credits 2.3.1 Television 2.3.2 Film 2.3.3 Theatre 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Early life

Born in Anaheim, California as a first-generation Californian,^[4] Chao's parents ran a successful Chinese American pancake restaurant, Chao's, across the street from Disneyland, and employed her there from an early age. After moving from Garden Grove to Villa Park, California, Chao was enrolled at Marywood, an all-girls school where she was the only non-Caucasian student.^[5]

[edit] Career

Chao's parents were instrumental in her decision to pursue acting;^[4] she began 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.^[5] She later performed in television commercials and guest starred on TV series in her teenage years. Her first acting role was in the CBS sitcom Here's Lucy, but she was first noticed performing in another CBS sitcom: 1972's short-lived Anna and the King as the eponymous king's (Yul Brynner) eldest daughter.^[3]

Dropping out of 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,^[5] she soon returned to acting.^[3][4]

[edit] Re-commitment

Having seen and remembered Chao from Anna and the King,^[4] television producer Burt Metcalfe provided her big break with the role of Soon-Lee, a South Korean refugee, in the final episodes of the TV series M*A*S*H.^[3] Soon-Lee married longtime starring character Maxwell Klinger (Jamie Farr) in the series finale "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen",^[6] the most-watched television episode of all time (as of 2008). Chao continued playing the character in the M*A*S*H sequel: 1983's AfterMASH, her first role billed at co-starring status.^[7]

[edit] Post-M*A*S*H

Chao regularly portrayed the Japanese exo-botanist Keiko O'Brien (née Ishikawa) on both Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9) with eight appearances in the former and 19 in the latter before DS9's end in 1999.^[8]

[edit] Performance credits

[edit] Television

Here's Lucy (1972) Anna and the King (1972) Diff'rent Strokes (1982), Miss Chung - recurring role[3] M*A*S*H (1983), Soon-Lee - episodes "As Time Goes By" and "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" AfterMASH (1983—1985), Soon-Lee Klinger Paper Angels (1986) - first lead role on television[3]

Falcon Crest (1986), Li-Ying - recurring role[3] Star Trek: The Next Generation (1991—1992), Keiko O'Brien (née Ishikawa) - recurring role (8 appearances)[8][4] Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993—1999), Keiko O'Brien (née Ishikawa) - recurring role (19 appearances)[4][8] Citizen Baines (2001), Judith Lin[9] The O.C. (2003), Dr. Kim - guest star recurring role[3]

[edit] Film

The Big Brawl (1980), Mae[10] An Eye for an Eye (1981), Linda Chan[10] The Terry Fox Story (1983), Rika[3] Slam Dance (1987), Mrs. Bell[10] White Ghost (1988), Thi Hau[10] Denial (1991[11] 1000 Pieces of Gold (1991), Lalu Nathoy/ Polly Bemis[10] Megaville (1991), Cathy DiTolla[9] Intruders (1992)[9] Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992), Cathy DiTolla[10] The Joy Luck Club (1993), Rose[10] Web of Deception (1994)[11] Love Affair (1994), Lee[10]

North (1994), Chinese Mom[10] To Love, Honor and Deceive (1996)[9] The End of Violence (1997), Claire[10] What Dreams May Come (1998), Leona[10] Three Blind Mice (2001)[11] Enemies of Laughter (2000), Carla[10] I Am Sam (2001), Lily[10] Freaky Friday (2003), Pei-Pei[10] Life of the Party (2005), Mei Lin[9] Just like Heaven (2005), Fran[10] Tell Me You Love Me (2007) - recurring role[3] Nanking (2007), Chang Yu Zheng[10]

[edit] Theatre

• Some Girl(s) (2008), Lindsay^[12]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Rosalind Chao at the Internet Movie Database
• Rosalind Chao at TV.com
• Rosalind Chao article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki

Persondata
NAME	Chao, Rosalind
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	American actress
DATE OF BIRTH	1959-09-23
PLACE OF BIRTH	Anaheim
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH