Northern California was her home in 1983 where she worked with the West Coast Demonstration Team. At this time Golden Harvest was searching in Los Angeles for the next Bruce Lee. Rothrock's forms and maneuvers were observed and Golden Harvest signed a contract with her. It was two years (1985) later that she made her first martial arts movie for them, Police Assassins (also known as Yes Madam! or In the Line of Duty Part 2) which also starred Michelle Yeoh. It proved to be a box office success. She ended up staying in Hong Kong until 1988 doing seven films there. She may be the first Caucasian actress that ever had a lead role in a Chinese film as a heroine. At the time, the typical role for Caucasians was cast as either as a villain or as comic relief.

Rothrock became one of the few Caucasian performers to achieve genuine stardom in the local Hong Kong film industry before achieving success in their own country. Producer Pierre David initiated Rothrock's move to the American