Margaret Cho

Margaret Cho (born Moran Cho on December 5, 1968 in San Francisco, California) is an American born Korean-American comedian and actress.

Biography

Cho won the American Comedy Award for Best Female Comedian in 1994. She made television history by being the first Asian American (male or female) to have a television series based around her. The series, called All American Girl, was quickly canceled after suffering major content changes over the course of one season. The program was also problematic because much of the humor was based on broad Asian stereotypical portrayals of her relatives. Since then, she has had several successful one-woman shows. The first, called I'm the One That I Want, dealt with her difficulties breaking into show business due to her ethnicity and weight. The film version became the highest-grossing film in history in proportion to the number of prints ($1.4 million with only 9 prints).

Related Topics:
American Comedy Award - 1994 - Asian American - Television - All American Girl - I'm the One That I Want

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The second, Notorious C.H.O. (the title a spoof on rap artist Lil' Kim's album The Notorious K.I.M., and that in turn being a tribute to Lil' Kim's late boyfriend's nickname "The Notorious B.I.G.") dealt with her having been raised in 1970s San Francisco and her own bisexuality. Both tours spawned live movie versions, albums and books.

Related Topics:
Notorious C.H.O. - Lil' Kim - The Notorious K.I.M. - The Notorious B.I.G. - 1970s - Bisexuality

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Much of her comedy is quite sexually explicit; some of her favorite subjects include her fondness for gay men and proud identity as a "fag hag," sharp political commentary, descriptions of her problems with prejudice, substance abuse, and eating disorders, and her relationship with her mother, which she loves to satirize. She has comedically mentioned her plans to "cover her vagina with leaves" because of her belief that falling in to such a trap was the only way that someone would enter it. In the same vein, she has also remarked that if one doesn't have sex for a long time, say two years, then one's virginity is automatically earned back. The poster for her first one-woman show (and film), "I'm the One That I Want," featured her holding her arms out as if gripping a steering wheel but with her index finger extended, an allusion to a joke she tells involving using digital rectal stimulation as a means towards more expediently ending a sexual encounter.

Related Topics:
Gay - Fag hag - Eating disorder - Vagina - Virginity - Digital rectal stimulation

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In 2003 filmed another comedy film, Revolution. She also began an internet presence with the advent of http://www.margaretcho.com and her daily weblog. She began to draw intense fire from conservatives over her fiercely anti-Bush commentary; a live performance in Houston, Texas was threatened with picketing. Although protesters never showed up, she held a counter protest outside the club until security told her she had to go inside. Cho also started Love is Love is Love, a website promoting tolerance of homosexuality and the legalization of gay marriage in the United States. Additionally, a clothing line called "High Class Cho" (http://www.highclasscho.com) was started; with it Cho hopes to bring attractive clothing to the market for plus sized women.

Related Topics:
2003 - Weblog - Conservative - Bush - Houston, Texas - Homosexuality - Gay marriage - United States

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In 2004 Cho was performing at a corporate gig in a hotel when, after 10 minutes, her microphone was cut off and a band was instructed to begin playing. Cho claims this was because the manager of the hotel was offended by anti-Bush-administration comments. Cho's payment, which was issued by way of check directly to a non-profit organization, West Memphis Three, initially bounced but was eventually honored.http://www.margaretcho.com/blog/theyturnedoffthemic.htmhttp://www.onlineseats.com/margaret-cho-tickets/index.asp In July 2004 during the Democratic National Convention, Cho was un-invited to speak at a Human Rights Campaign/National Stonewall Democrats fundraiser because of fear that her comments might cause controversy.

Related Topics:
2004 - Democratic National Convention - Human Rights Campaign - National Stonewall Democrats

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In late 2004 Cho began work on her first self-written and starring film role. The movie is called Bam Bam and Celeste and is a low-budget comedy about a fag hag and her gay best friend. The film co-stars Cho's friend and co-touring act Bruce Daniels. The film is currently in post-production.

Related Topics:
2004 - Bam Bam and Celeste - Fag hag - Gay - Bruce Daniels

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Cho has dated Quentin Tarantino (who appeared on an episode of her sitcom as a favor), Chris Isaak and Garrett Wang. In 2003 she married Al Ridenour, an artist involved in the creation Cacophony Society, basis for Chuck Palahniuk's book Fight Club.

Related Topics:
Quentin Tarantino - Chris Isaak - Garrett Wang - 2003 - Cacophony Society - Chuck Palahniuk - Fight Club

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In 2005 Cho started promoting and touring with her new show "Assassin". The show will be turned into a live concert film which will premiere on the gay and lesbian premium cable network Here!. Posters feature Cho in paratrooper gear holding a microphone in the style of an automatic rifle.

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Cho has three dogs, all adopted. They are Ralph (as in Fiennes), Bronwyn, named for a car, and Gudrun, named after 1970s German terrorist Gudrun Ensslin of the Baader-Meinhof Gang, and the Norse Valkyrie Gudrunhttp://www.margaretcho.com/articles/individual_articles/newsday2_article.htmhttp://margaretcho.net/blog/thenewgirl.htmhttp://margaretcho.com/blog/gudrun.htm.

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