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Rosalind Chao (born 23 September 1957; age 66) is an actress best known for her portrayal of Keiko O'Brien (née Ishikawa) in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. (While the character of Keiko is a Japanese national, the actress Chao is Chinese-American.) Chao appeared in eight episodes of Next Generation and nineteen episodes of Deep Space Nine.

Chao has remained friends with Colm Meaney and attended his wedding in Beverly Hills on March 15, 2007. At Grand Slam XV, Meaney said "It was lovely having my TV wife at my wedding". [1] Chao herself is married to actor and fellow Next Generation guest star Simon Templeman.

Before being cast as Keiko in the episode "Data's Day", she originally auditioned and was considered for the role of Natasha Yar, according to a 1987 studio memo. [2] Her costume from "Data's Day" was later sold off on the web. [3]

Her first credited role was in a 1970 episode of Lucille Ball's series, Here's Lucy, entitled "Lucy the Laundress". Her first major acting role was in the 1972 television series Anna and the King, in which she played Princess Serena. She played Soon-Lee Klinger in the penultimate and final episodes of M*A*S*H with David Ogden Stiers. She reprised the role in AfterMASH.

Chao also had recurring roles on other popular series, such as Diff'rent Strokes, in which she played Miss Chung, and Falcon Crest in which she played Li Ying. More recently, she has had recurring roles on 10-8: Officers on Duty, Six Feet Under, and The O.C..

In 1987, she appeared in the series Max Headroom, along with Matt Frewer, Concetta Tomei, George Coe, Andreas Katsulas, W. Morgan Sheppard, and the late Charles Rocket. In 1988, she played a Vietcong soldier in an episode of Tour of Duty. In 2001, she played a midwife in a pivotal episode of Once and Again (with Billy Campbell and Paul Dooley.) In 2003 she appeared on an episode of Monk, alongside Jamie McShane and Michael Reisz; the show also featured Stanley Kamel in a recurring role as the title character's psychiatrist, though he did not appear in the episode with Chao; Chao's husband, Simon Templeman, likewise appeared in an episode during the same season.

Chao has also made appearances in many successful films, including The Joy Luck Club (1993, co-starring Tamlyn Tomita and France Nuyen), I Am Sam (2001, featuring her Next Generation co-star Brent Spiner), and Freaky Friday (2003, featuring Willie Garson). Chao also co-starred in What Dreams May Come (1998) based upon the novel by Star Trek: The Original Series scribe Richard Matheson and featuring Scott Trimble.

In 2005, she starred in Just Like Heaven (with fellow Next Generation and Deep Space Nine guest star Ron Canada) and in Life of the Party (with Star Trek: Voyager guest star David Clennon). Recently, she has made guest appearances on Tell Me You Love Me. Ronny Cox has also appeared on that series.

As of 2015, she had a recurring role on Sin City Saints. In 2016, she appeared in an episode of Hawaii Five-0 (starring Daniel Dae Kim and developed by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman), portraying another character named Keiko, the governor of Hawaii Keiko Mahoe.

Star Trek appearances[]

External links[]

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