Margaret Cho

Margaret Cho grew up in San Francisco in the 1970s, a childhood that helped to fuel her stand-up comedy, acting, and activism. Her childhood was fraught with pain, as she dealt with bullying, sexual abuse, and racism throughout her teen years. By the time she turned in 20 in 1988, Cho started to form what would become her future career as she started to dabble in stand-up comedy. It took time, but by 1992, her star started to shine as she landed a guest role on Golden Girls spin-off "The Golden Palace" (CBS 1992-93). Around the same time, her stand-up started taking off as she performed alongside everyone from Jerry Seinfeld to Bob Hope. This all led to "All-American Girl" (ABC 1994-95), a sitcom starring Cho that was centered around her comedy and life. The show only lasted a single season and the failure of the project led Cho to drug addiction. She recovered, returning stand-up and acting, appearing in the John Travolta and Nicolas Cage action movie "Face/Off" (1995) and even making appearances on "Sex and the City" (HBO 1998-2004) and "The Nanny" (ABC 1993-99). At the turn of the century, Cho released the one-woman show "I'm the One That I Want" (2000). It was the first of numerous well-received specials, followed up by "Notorious C.H.O." (2001) and "Assassin" (2005). Later on, she even dabbled in music with "Cho Dependent" (2010) and "American Myth" (2016), which both netted Grammy nominations. She returned to television in 2009 on the dramedy "Drop Dead Diva" (Lifetime 2009-2014) as well as an Emmy-nominated performance as Kim Jong-Il on "30 Rock" (NBC 2006-2013).