Margaret Cho

Explore the fascinating journey of Margaret Cho (born December 5, 1968): a bold comedian, actress, writer, and advocate. From early struggles to boundary-pushing humor, her voice on identity, politics, and irreverence continues to inspire.

Introduction

Margaret Moran Cho is a comedian who refuses to play small. Fierce, vulnerable, and deeply intellectual, she uses her platform to challenge norms around race, gender, sexuality, body image, and power. Born December 5, 1968, Cho has emerged as a cultural force—not just for laughs, but for the way her comedy carves space for marginalized voices.

In her stand-up, television, music, and activism, she consistently blends confessional honesty with biting political satire. Her life invites us to ask: what does it take to be seen, and how can comedy be a tool of resistance?

Early Life & Identity

Margaret Cho was born in San Francisco, California.

From a young age, Cho felt the weight of difference. She faced bullying, body shaming, and identity conflicts.

She attended the San Francisco School of the Arts where she participated in improv and performance, alongside future creatives. San Francisco State University to study drama, though she did not complete her degree.

Through these early hardships, Cho cultivated resilience, a sense of humor about her pain, and a relentless drive to express truths others might suppress.

Comedy Beginnings & All-American Girl

Cho’s comedic career took off in the early 1990s. She performed in small clubs and slowly built a reputation for unflinching material about her life, race, and sexuality.

In 1994, ABC launched All-American Girl, a sitcom centered on an Asian American family starring Cho. It was one of the first mainstream shows of its kind.

All-American Girl was cancelled after one season, but the experience was formative. It pushed her to confront the cost of visibility and authenticity in a mainstream media world not always willing to embrace them.

Evolution: Stand-up, Theatre & Multimedia Work

After the show ended, Cho turned resolutely to stand-up, one-woman shows, and storytelling. She used confession, critique, and theatricality in her routines to break taboos around addiction, sexuality, body politics, and race.

Her show I’m the One That I Want (and its accompanying book) was a turning point. In it, she confronted her internal and external battles, achieving catharsis through humor.

On television, Cho has appeared in Drop Dead Diva, guest-starred on 30 Rock (playing Kim Jong Il), and more.

Cho’s style is irreverent, raw, and intersectional. She deliberately blurs the line between performance and vulnerability, often inviting the audience to witness her healing.

Advocacy & Cultural Impact

Cho’s comedy is political by nature. By virtue of her identity—Korean American, bisexual, a woman with a non-conforming body—many of her jokes become commentary.

She has used her platform to talk about mental health, sexual trauma, body acceptance, and addiction. In interviews and performances, she affirms that exposing our wounds can connect us rather than alienate us.

Cho has received recognition for her activism, including awards from LGBTQ and civil liberties organizations.

Her impact is also generational: many younger Asian American comedians cite her as paving the way, giving permission to speak one's truth unapologetically.

Personality & Influence

Margaret Cho is bold, mercurial, empathetic, and fearless. She doesn’t shy away from her contradictions—her rage, her tenderness, her humor, her scars. She is generous in making space for others, especially those whose voices have been marginalized.

Her influence is visible in how comedy has become a vehicle for identity politics, self-narrative, and healing. She’s a living example that being “too much” for some can be just right for many.

Selected Quotes

Here are some memorable lines that capture Cho’s worldview:

• “The intention is to make people laugh, to make people happy. It’s unselfish; it’s in the service of others, and as a comedian you are making yourself vulnerable in order to make others happy.”

• “It’s important to feel beautiful; it’s political to feel beautiful.”

• “I am admittedly insecure about my racial identity … any attention paid to me being different was incredibly shameful … but the mirrors became too much.”

• “I think comedy is an angry art form … anger and comedy are really connected.”

• “Try to put your happiness before anyone else’s, because you may never have done so in your entire life.”

• “As a comedian you are making yourself vulnerable … in order to make others happy.”

Lessons from Margaret Cho’s Life

1. Authenticity over comfort
   Cho reminds us that there is more value in being real than being palatable to everyone.

2. Humor as resistance
   Using laughter to expose injustice, taboo, and pain is a powerful mode of critique.

3. Vulnerability is strength
   By revealing her wounds, Cho offers a model for connection and collective healing.

4. Intersectionality matters
   Her life shows how identities overlap and that justice must acknowledge all axes of oppression.

5. Creativity is a life project
   Her career spans forms—from stand-up to writing, podcasting to activism—highlighting that the artist’s work is never finished.