Talk:Rosalind Chao

References consulted

Although she has over 5000 webpages, I found only one two-paragraph bio of her in Chinese (Simplified) (page now gone, I used cache) and one good data list in English.

Birthyear: According to the data list, she was born in 1964/1956/1959. Nobody knows for sure. I guess I could fan-mail her, but I had bad experiences with fan mails before, with they deflected back at me with court restraining orders. No, they just didn't get reply, at all. Still like them anyway, with a fine touch of hate! *joke* --Menchi 14:48 29 Jun 2003 (UTC)

Rosalind Chao graduated from Pomona College in 1978. She was therefore probably born in 1956, as were all the other members of that graduating class. (of which I was a member) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.241.174.129 (talk • contribs) 19:46, 7 October 2005

California birth records list a Rosalind C. Chao born in Los Angeles County 23 Sep 1957. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Questors (talk • contribs) 06:59, 29 December 2005

Are these available online anywhere, so the information can be verified? Angr (talk • contribs) 22:33, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

Clearly she could not have graduated from college at age 14 so clearly the 1964 date (and indeed any date from the 1960s) is not possible. And if she was a genius who could graduate from college as a child the fan publications would have made a big deal about it. Thus the main article is factually incorrect. It seems likely it is in the mid-1950s with 1956 or 1957 being the most likely assuming four years of college immediately after an on-schedule high school graduation. MichaelSH 01:41, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

Did she actually graduate from Pomona College? In an interview she said she transferred to USC from Pomona. I don't think she graduated from either college. The 1957 birth year cited by California Birth Records is by far the most accurate source. How about ahigh school yearbook? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Annavronsky (talk • contribs) 02:12, 8 November 2006

Uncited Source

Removed and changed "Chao plays one of the eight main characters in The Joy Luck Club. However, her favourite role is a minor one in What Dreams May Come, where she played flight attendant Leona, the physical manifestation of the protagonist's dead daughter." It has no source and should noe be there till something is added —Preceding unsigned comment added by Omglazers (talk • contribs) 16:12, 23 July 2006

Reconstitution

As a WP:BLP, I culled the article of all unverified information. I struck everything unreferenced and rebuilt it with 100% referencing. The prior version is here for anybody interested in going back to try and reference any of the information that had been there. — pd_THOR ^{| =/\=} | 05:31, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

68.20.203.140 (talk · contribs) added an unsourced claim of notoriety for Chao's portrayal of Keiko O'Brien on Star Trek. While this was a frequently recurring role for Chao, none of the pre-existing reliable sources makes these claims, and the ip user provided none. As such, for the time being, I have removed it. — pd_THOR ^{| =/\=} | 00:37, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Star Trek

On 2008-02-12, DiScOrD tHe LuNaTiC (talk · contribs) added to the lede specific Chinese ancestry and specification of children, neither of which were supported by the references standing. I've reverted that section as unsupported. I further removed the specification of her marriage as I don't wish to debate the noteworthiness of other people in this article, nor does it provide any more information than the infobox currently does.

Same user also added a separate specific section to detail Chao's Star Trek acting in more detail, talking about the character and her appearances. I tried to re-write this several times to make it significant, and not just a prosed restating of her following filmography section, but couldn't manage. Without delving into plot material (which isn't particular to the actress, and unnecessary) this section would be effectively: "played on Star Trek for 27 appearances through 1999". I tried with: "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." and will leave it at this until I can do more research into Star Trek materials for something other than plot to add.

A question to anyone who may read this, I de-linked Here's Lucy, Anna and the King, M*A*S*H, and AfterMASH in the filmography because they were already linked in the prosed sections above. When I did the same with the Star Trek series, the filmography really started to look pocked. I know we're discouraged from superfluously double-linking in an article, but for consistency's sake should the entirety of the filmography be wiki-linked? — pd_THOR ^{| =/\=} | 06:20, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

Mods

If her parents ran a "Chinese-American" restaurant, then it logically follows that she's of Chinese descent. I've replaced a modified version of the Simon line, removing the "noted" term. I agree with your editing down of the ST section; looking back, I did go a tad overboard. Also, there is no article for "newswriting", so linking it accomplishes nothing but red text.DiScOrD tHe LuNaTiC (talk) 16:10, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

Lots of people run "Chinese" restaurants w/o being Chinese, I know for a fact that over half of them in the Puget Sound area were in fact Koreans; I say it should go without a proper citation, especially per the vehemence of WP:BLP. Whereas the "Asian ancestry" is sourced to her Yahoo! biography.

I didn't disagree with the change from newswriter to newswriting, because the verb will be the ultimate article as opposed to the noun; however Wikipedia:Red links says: "Good red links help Wikipedia — they encourage new contributors in useful directions, and remind us that Wikipedia is far from finished." and that "Removal of red links for nonexistent topics should not be done without careful consideration of their importance or relevance." I'm sure that newswriting is a relevant topic for an encyclopedic article, so I would rather replace the wikilink than have it removed. Your thoughts?

And lastly, we don't have any reliable sources for Ms. Chao having two children; her Yahoo! biography states her husband and that after "having a child" she "de-emphasized her own performing career", but nothing about a second child. So we can either state what we can cite, the marriage and one child, or we can eschew it altogether for now (perhaps commenting it?) until we have a cite for both children?

I'm sure that in amongst all the "Nitpicker's Guide to Star Trek", and "Behind the show" books, and especially the "companion guides to Star Trek" we can find more heady Star Trek-specific information to add to her bio here. Unfortunately, I stopped reading those a long time ago, so maybe this weekend I'll look again at my local libraries and see what I can scrounge up. — pd_THOR ^{| =/\=} | 03:10, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Thor, as to your points:

1. - If nothing else, "Chao" is a Chinese surname.
2. - I agree with the redlink; it's only an aesthetic objection when I really think about it. That and the fact that it's very rarely that I've ever seen a redlink lead to a new article(but perhaps that speaks more to my taste in pages than peoples contributions).
3. - I'll cut it down just to married until/unless more data is forthcoming. I get the feeling they try to keep their kids out of the spotlight, which I applaud.
4. - I may rework the ST part eventually, but I'm not losing any sleep over it. Onward! DiScOrD tHe LuNaTiC (talk) 13:31, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

It may traditionally be a Chinese surname (Zhao (surname)), but we can't make those assumptions under the policy of no original research; I'm gonna revert, but will keep looking for a place to source it. For newswriting, I'll replace the redlink and maybe look into starting that article myself. ;^) — pd_THOR ^{| =/\=} | 15:10, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Yes, Chinese restaurants aren't always run by ethnic Chinese. Beijing Opera (Peking Opera), however, would be dificult to get into without a Chinese background and most Chaos are ethnic Chinese. I know many people from Vietnam that never learned everyday Vietnamese until leaving the country, having spent their entire Vietnamese lives speaking Chinese. Their rudimentary Vietnamese was easier to develop in mature age than the majority population's language, English. These people keep up with traditional Chinese music, language, and culture, as opposed to Vietnamese. So, despite marks of being Vietnamese on their registry papers in AU or US, they are ethnic Chinese. Either way, just leaving Asian American is insufficient. Many Desis and Britons, amongst others (especially in the Commonwealth), refer to Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Maldives, the British Indian Ocean Territory, and the Sino-Tibetan state, Bhutan (South Asia) when they say Asian. If you changed it to Eastern Asian, I would understand; but Asian's just not specific enough. I think the evidence is sufficient to say she's ethnic Chinese or Chinese American, even if by some off-chance, she's also Vietnamese American, Korean American, Mongolian American, Japanese American, Filipino American, Singaporean American, Malaysian American, Indonesian American, or Bruneian American. Among the latter five (Southeast Asia), she would most likely be considered overseas Chinese, anyway. Labelling people into ethnicities is unnecessary, but people with ties to a certain ethnic group feel sentimental or proud when they see the success of members of that group. That's why I'm going to boldly put a Chinese American category tag at the bottom. Feel free to RV. :)--Thecurran (talk) 06:02, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

I don't disagree with you in the least, but everything you know and understand (along with everything I know and understand, and everything DiScOrD tHe LuNaTiC (talk · contribs) knows and understands) is not reliable, and is effectively original research. I believe she's Chinese, and I continue to be on the lookout for sourcing that state such, but without them the only thing we can include is what we can verify via reliable sourcing. Please realize, I believe you and verily appreciate your help, but we can't make those judgment calls. If you know any sourcing that specifically refers to her as Chinese (I'm getting my hands on some Star Trek resources, myself), please either add it yourself and update accordingly, or let us know here and we'll make it happen for you (although you seem versed enough). Thanks, but not yet! Cheers!

I may in fact have a lead on a reliable sourcing for this, but either need US$3.95, or my local library. Stay tuned. — pd_THOR ^{| =/\=} | 17:16, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

Birth year

What year was Chao really born? I noticed that when I dug all the way back into the oldest versions of this article, it stated she was born in 1956 or 1957. Now it says 1959. I Googled her and most sites say 1957, only a few said 1959. But this article says 1959. What year was she really born? Anybody know for sure? Something just seems off here... Lady Galaxy 02:04, 20 August 2008 (UTC)

The issue here is reliable sourcing for her birth year. You're right: a lot of places on the interwebs have differing dates for Ms. Chao's DOB (including an IP address claiming to be her son, [1] [2]). However, the sites I came across when working on this article were generally unreliable (with respects to "Wikipedia-reliability") with the exception of Yahoo! Movies and The New York Times—both of which listed the DOB currently in the article. I have now cited her DOB specifically in the article to address these concerns ([3]). — pd_THOR ^{| =/\=} | 03:40, 20 August 2008 (UTC)

sources

• "The Rising Tide to Screen at Bennett Media Studio on March 7th". artdaily. Royalville Communications, Inc. Retrieved 2009-03-09. — pd_THOR ^{| =/\=} | 04:23, 10 March 2009 (UTC)

Under her name

Why does it say "B.J." under her name? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.94.98.192 (talk) 04:02, 15 June 2012 (UTC)

Section rewrite

The section regarding the filmography needs to organized better. Winterysteppe (talk) 23:35, 22 January 2016 (UTC)

External links modified

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Birth year again

A recent edit added this source for Chao's age: [4]. The source quotes her as saying most sources online have her age as 10 years too high (e.g. born in 1957), and specifically that Wikipedia does as well. The source supports the 1967 date. However, that would make her only 10 in this photo from a 1977 episode of Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew: [5]. She is definitely not 10 in that photo. I don't think a source that claims the 1967 date can be trusted, in light of that evidence, so I've reverted to the previous version. --Fru1tbat (talk) 17:11, 27 February 2020 (UTC)

• No date should be added without meeting the requirements of WP:DOB ("Wikipedia includes full names and dates of birth that have been widely published by reliable sources"). IMDb, "On this day" entries in newspapers and magazines, and online databases do not meet the reliable sourcing criteria for inclusion of disputed content in a BLP. If there are equally reliable sources providing conflicting dates then both dates should be provided along with the corresponding sources, subject to editorial discretion and consensus.-- Jezebel's Ponyo^{bons mots} 18:05, 24 June 2020 (UTC)

I was hoping this would just go away, but her birth year is still being switched back and forth. Her college lists her graduation year as 1978, and photos from multiple roles in the 70s and early 80s make it clear she could not have been born in 1967 - whatever reliable sources have that year are pretty obviously wrong. I'm familiar with all the relevant policies and guidelines - surely there is a solution that satisfies all the relevant aims here. This is getting absurd. --Fru1tbat (talk) 13:02, 17 August 2020 (UTC)

And once more, since this is still ongoing, and the party/parties trying to push a younger age/later birthdate have refused to engage in any real dialog, there is fairly ample evidence online against a 1967 birthdate. Not all of it qualifies as reliable sources for article content, but it should absolutely be reliable enough to aid conscientious editors wishing to make an informed decision about this dispute. Which, it needs to be said, looks an awful lot like a concerted PR effort by multiple single-purpose accounts. --Fru1tbat (talk) 18:40, 18 November 2020 (UTC)

Sources differ. Yahoo Movies (2006) and The New York Times (2009) say 1959, but Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television (circa 2007) says "born September 23, 1959 (some sources cite September 23, 1957), in Los Angeles (some sources say Anaheim or Orange County)".

And this 2013 Star Trek unauthorized book published by Hal Leonard says "born September 27, 1957, in Anaheim, California". This book was published in April 2012, when Wikipedia at the time had a 1959 birth year, so it's highly doubtful the author lifted that biographical info from Wikipedia. Arbor to SJ (talk) 05:12, 14 June 2024 (UTC)

Correct year is 1957. See entry in California Birth Index: [6]. --Shivertimbers433 (talk) 17:04, 24 June 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 18 November 2020

The Link that shows Rosalind Chao's graduation date from Pomona College is linked to a Blaisdell article that does NOT reference Rosalind Chao in it. Therefore that link should be removed. Why would you refer to an article that does not mention that person?? Mthompsonwiki (talk) 17:50, 18 November 2020 (UTC)

I pulled the Aug 7 2020 snapshot of that page from the archive, as it has the information about Ms. Chao attending Pomona and graduating USC. It looks like Chao's section was removed from the 2018 award page between that snapshot and the next snapshot on Oct 1 2020. Coincidentally, that timeframe was the same as a concerted effort to change Ms. Chao's birthdate in this article to the dubious 1967 date. I wonder if Pomona took back her award as well, or if they let her keep it... --Fru1tbat (talk) 18:30, 18 November 2020 (UTC)