Margaret Cho

Beginning with her early days on the scene in SoCal, comedian Margaret Cho has always been the Agent Provocateur of stand up. Never one to shy away from a difficult, or even 'taboo' topic, there is no subject off limits. Her socially aware brand of comedy has made her both a thought leader as well as a teacher to those with open minds and open hearts. Notably, she rose to prominence after starring in the ABC sitcom "All-American Girl," which was the first show prominently featuring an East Asian family. She also guest starred on the comedy "30 Rock" in the episode "Everything Sunny All the Time Always" in 2011, a portrayal that earned her a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.

An accomplished performer in all formats, Cho could be called the "Queen of all Media," having conquered the worlds of film, television, books, and theatre. She has three Grammy Award nominations for Best Comedy Album and won the American Comedy Award for Best Female Comedian in 1994. Her tours sell out, and she's had two shows debut Off-Broadway ("I'm The One That I Want" and "The Sensuous Woman"). She has made an indelible mark in television and film, with roles such as Charlene Lee in "It's My Party" and John Travolta's FBI colleague in the action film "Face/Off." In 2022, Cho co-starred in the film "Fire Island," a portrayal of the LGBT Asian American experience. She also has her own clothing line and has had endeavors in fashion and music.

In 2020, Margaret appeared in three films – she played a ruthless Hollywood movie studio exec in "Faith Based," Fairy Gay Mother 1 in "Friendsgiving," starring Kat Dennings and Malin Akerman, and Auntie Ling in Netflix’s first major animated film, "Over the Moon," which Vulture called “one of the most gorgeous animated films ever made.” As if she wasn’t exercising that artistic muscle enough, she launched her own podcast, “The Margaret Cho,” in July 2019 where the first part is a chat with a celebrity friend you already know and the second part is with an up-and-coming artist you may not know yet.

With so much success in her creative life, Margaret still finds time to support the causes that are important to her. She speaks at rallies, such as the Marriage Equality Rally at the California State Capitol, and has won awards for her humanitarian efforts on behalf of women, Asian Americans, and the LGBT community. She was the recipient of the Victory Fund’s Leadership Award, the first-ever Best Comedy Performance Award at the Asian Excellence Awards, the First Amendment Award from the ACLU of Southern California, and the Intrepid Award from the National Organization for Women (NOW). 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 (NGLTF), the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), PFLAG, and LA Pride, who gave Margaret a Lifetime Achievement Award for leaving a lasting imprint on the LGBT community.