Lei Chao is the mother of Mark Chao. She displays vast knowledge of Chinese legends and is constantly warning Mark of the dangers from her legends but, being a careless youth, he never listens.
History
Lei Chao after talking with Piper.
On Mark's twenty-third birthday, this ignorance becomes his poison: while his mother warns him of the dangers and pleads with him to wear her talisman for protection, he ignores her warnings and is attacked and killed later that morning.
Lei is seen again later when Piper comes to talk to her, where Mark teaches Piper some Chinese so she can gain Lei's trust. After a few short sentences, they switch to English when they realize no one had told Lei that Mark had been murdered. After Mark's body was officially identified, Lei tearfully buries her son. Despite her inability to hear him, Mark tells her that she was always "right". Mark has a short conversation with Prue, Piper, and Phoebe by telling Prue to always celebrate her birthday, and sharing a heartfelt moment with Piper. He then walks away and meets with his deceased father, departing for the afterlife together.
Notes and Trivia
- Mark compares her to actress Shirley McClaine.
- She tries to get Mark to wear a necklace that later keeps him from entering the house as a ghost, which would probably mean that he would not have been able to leave his body, though Mark slides out of his body without difficulty.
- Her father or father-in-law was a chef (revealed by Mark, when he gives Piper his grandfather's recipe box).
- Her husband was in the Military and most likely died in battle.
Appearances
Lei Chao appeared in a total of 1 episode throughout the course of the series:
| Charmed, Season 1 | |||||
| #01 | "Something Wicca This Way Comes" | #09 | "The Witch is Back" | #17 | "That '70s Episode" |
| #02 | "I've Got You Under My Skin" | #10 | "Wicca Envy" | #18 | "When Bad Warlocks Go Good" |
| #03 | "Thank You For Not Morphing" | #11 | "Feats of Clay" | #19 | "Out of Sight" |
| #04 | "Dead Man Dating" | #12 | "The Wendigo" | #20 | "The Power of Two" |
| #05 | "Dream Sorcerer" | #13 | "From Fear to Eternity" | #21 | "Love Hurts" |
| #06 | "The Wedding from Hell" | #14 | "Secrets and Guys" | #22 | "Déjà Vu All Over Again" |
| #07 | "The Fourth Sister" | #15 | "Is There a Woogy in the House?" | ||
| #08 | "The Truth is Out There... and It Hurts" | #16 | "Which Prue is It, Anyway?" | ||