Rosalind Chao

April 29, 2012

Chao at the Just Like Heaven premiere in Los Angeles, California (September 8, 2005)

Rosalind Chao ( /ˈ r ɒ z ə l ɪ n d ˈ tʃ aʊ /; born September 23, 1959) is a Chinese American actress. Chao’s most prolific roles have been as a star of CBS‘ After MASH portraying South Korean refugee Soon-Lee Klinger for both seasons, and the recurring character Keiko O’Brien with 27 appearances on the syndicated science fiction series Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Chao is married to voice actor Simon Templeman.

Early life

Born in Anaheim, California as a first-generation Californian of Chinese descent, 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. She graduated from Pomona College in 1978.

Career

Chao’s parents were instrumental in her decision to pursue acting; 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. 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.

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, she soon returned to acting.