BACK TO MARGARET CHO

Margaret Cho was born Dec. 5, 1968 and raised in San Francisco. "It was different than any other place on Earth," she says. "I grew up and went to grammar school on Haight Street during the '70s. There were old hippies, ex-druggies, burnouts from the '60s, drag queens, and Chinese people. To say it was a melting pot - that's the least of it. It was a really confusing, enlightening, wonderful time."

Her grandfather was a Methodist minister who ran an orphanage in Seoul during the Korean War. Ignoring the traditions of her patriarchal culture, her mother bravely resisted an arranged marriage in Korea and married Margaret's father who writes joke books - in Korean. "Books like 1001 Jokes for Public Speakers - real corny stuff," Cho says. "I guess we're in the same line of work. But we don't understand each other that way. I don't know why the things he says are funny and the same for him."

Cho started performing stand-up at age 16 in a comedy club called The Rose & Thistle above a bookstore her parents ran. Soon after, she won a comedy contest where first prize was opening for Jerry Seinfeld. She moved to Los Angeles in the early '90s and lived in a house with several other young performers.

I moved out because I wasn't the most famous. If the Manson Family had come, I wouldn't have been Sharon Tate; I would have been one of the supporting victims, and who wants that? Janeane Garofalo moved into my old room. Anyway, 'Cho' written in blood on the wall doesn't look as cool as 'Garofalo.'

Still in her early twenties, Margaret hit the college circuit, where she immediately became the most booked act in the market and garnered a nomination for “Campus Comedian of The Year.” She performed over 300 concerts within 2 years. Arsenio Hall introduced her to late night audiences, Bob Hope put her on a prime-time special and, seemingly overnight, Margaret Cho became a national celebrity.

Her ground-breaking and controversial, yet short-lived ABC sitcom, All-American Girl, soon followed. Says Cho:

There were just so many people involved in that show, and so much importance put on the fact that it was an ethnic show. It's hard to pin down what "ethnic" is without appearing to be racist. And then, for fear of being too "ethnic," it got so watered down for television that by the end, it was completely lacking in the essence of what I am and what I do. I learned a lot, though. It was a good experience as far as finding myself, knowing who I was and what direction I wanted to take with my comedy.

After the show was cancelled, Margaret continued performing to sold-out audiences across the country in comedy clubs, theaters, and on college campuses. In 1999, her groundbreaking, off Broadway one-woman show, I'm The One That I Want, toured the country to national acclaim and was made into a best-selling book and feature film of the same name. The concert film, which garnered incredible reviews, broke records for most money grossed per print in movie history. In 2001, after the success of her first tour, Cho launched Notorious C.H.O., a smash-hit 37-city national tour that culminated in a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall. Like I’m the One That I Want, Notorious C.H.O. was recorded and released as a feature film, hailed by the New York Times as "Brilliant!" Both films, produced by Margaret’s production company, Cho Taussig Productions, were acquired by Showtime Cable Networks in Feb. 2004 and are currently airing on their channels.

In March of 2003, Margaret embarked on her third sold-out national tour, Revolution. The tour grossed 4.4M and was heralded by the Chicago Sun Times as "Her strongest show yet!" The CD of Revolution, released in the fall of 2003, was nominated for a Grammy for best comedy album of the year. The concert film Revolution, produced by Cho Taussig Productions will have its World Premiere on the Sundance Channel June 19, 2004 and will be released on DVD in August. Margaret’s production company will also release a behind the scenes documentary of the tour, tentatively titled Behind the Revolution by year’s end.

Margaret continues work on her own clothing line, High Class Cho (www.highclasscho.net), with long time friend and designer Ava Stander. She has plans to expand the line to include High Class Ass items, couture pieces handmade by Margaret herself.

And, look for more from her alter ego, MCMC who, along with B Nurse B (Bruce Daniels) have completed a comedy rap album and are animating many of the songs to be released later this year on DVD.

Currently Margaret is touring colleges and comedy clubs around the country, working on new material for her next national tour, State of Emergency. State of Emergency will tour primarily through the swing states of the 2004 presidential election this fall in an effort to get people out to vote while making people laugh.

After the election, she hopes to begin principle photography on her first narrative feature, Bam Bam and Celeste, described as a fag and fag hag Dumb and Dumber.

Margaret has been honored by GLAAD, American Women in Radio and Television, the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, PFLAG and the National Organization for Women for “making a significant difference in promoting equal rights for all, regardless of race, sexual orientation or gender identity."

I didn't mean to be a role model. I just speak my truth. I guess speaking from your heart really creates a huge impact, and if I can encourage people to do that, then I would love to be a role model. If I could encourage people to use their voices loudly, then that's my reward. I don't care about winning an academy award; I don't care about mainstream acceptance, because it's never going to be what I want it to be. I just want to do my work and love it.