Editing Margaret Cho (section)

===1992–95: Early stand-up and ''All-American Girl''===
After doing several shows in a club adjacent to her parents' bookstore, Cho launched a [[stand-up comedy]] career and spent several years developing her material in clubs. Cho's career began to build after appearances on television and university campuses. In 1992, she appeared on the unsuccessful ''[[Golden Girls]]'' spin-off ''[[The Golden Palace]]'' in a small role. In 1993, Cho won the [[American Comedy Award]] for Best Female Comedian.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://theenvelope.latimes.com/search/env-past-winners-search,0,1243372,results.formprofile?Query=margaret+cho&selectsearch=pastwinners&target=article&Lib=turbine_cdb_lib%3Aresult_doc_id+result_doc_rank+document_id+cdb_num+cdb_01_txt+cdb_02_txt+cdb_03_txt+cdb_04_txt+cdb_01_num&SortBy=COMPOSITE_RANK+desc&PageSize=10&Page=1&MinCoarseRank=500&QueryType=CONCEPT&x=0&y=0 | author = TheEnvelope.com | title = Margaret Cho search results | work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> In 2010, on ''[[The View (U.S. TV series)|The View]]'', she discussed her nervousness about doing ''The Golden Palace'' and thanked the late [[Rue McClanahan]] for her help with rehearsing. She also secured a coveted spot as opening act for [[Jerry Seinfeld]]; at about this time, she was featured on a [[Bob Hope]] special, and was also a frequent visitor to ''[[The Arsenio Hall Show]].''<ref name=adsample>{{cite web |last=Tang |first=Jean |url=http://www.jademagazine.com/Ad_sample_large.html |title=No Laughing Matter – Margaret Cho sounds off on political correctness, Asians in the media, and defying her parents |work=Jade Magazine |date=October 2002 |access-date=November 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007051920/http://www.jademagazine.com/Ad_sample_large.html |archive-date=October 7, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

That same year, [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] developed and aired a sitcom based on Cho's stand-up routine. The show, titled ''[[All-American Girl (TV series)|All-American Girl]],'' was initially promoted as the first show prominently featuring an East Asian family, although the short-lived sitcom ''[[Mr. T and Tina]],'' which had starred [[Pat Morita|Noriyuki "Pat" Morita]] as Mr. T., preceded it by nearly two decades.

Cho has expressed subsequent regret for much of what transpired during the production of the show, specifically:
* After network executives, especially [[executive producer]] [[Gail Berman]], criticized her appearance and the roundness of her face, Cho starved herself for several weeks. Her rapid [[weight loss]], done to modify her appearance by the time the pilot episode was filmed, caused [[kidney failure]].<ref name="ITOTIW-NYDN">{{cite news |author=Rush |first1=George |last2=Molloy |first2=Joanna |last3=Baram |first3=Marcus |last4=Malkin |first4=Marc S. |date=July 18, 1999 |title=Cho Tells A H'wood Horror Story |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/1999/07/18/cho-tells-a-hwood-horror-story/ |access-date=2025-04-22 |newspaper=New York Daily News |quote=Cho says executive producer Gail Berman [...] told her, "The network has a problem with the fullness of your face." Cho's dieting got so bad she lost 30 pounds in two weeks that she made a secret trip to an emergency room when her kidneys failed.}}</ref>
* The show suffered criticism from within the U.S. East Asian community over its perception of [[Stereotype|stereotyping]]. Producers told Cho at different times during production both that she was "too Asian" and that she was "not Asian enough." At one point during the course of the show, producers hired a coach to teach Cho how to "be more Asian."<ref name=adsample />
* Much of the humor was broad and coarse, and at times, stereotypical portrayals of her close Korean relatives and gay bookshop customers were employed.

The show was canceled after suffering poor ratings and the effect of major content changes over the course of its single season (19 episodes).<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Anderson |first=Sam |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2136087/ |title=Saved by the Gong: The sitcom that turned Margaret Cho into a cultural hero |magazine=Slate |date=February 23, 2006 |access-date=November 7, 2011}}</ref>

After the show's 1995 cancellation, Cho became addicted to drugs and alcohol. As detailed in her 2002 autobiography, ''[[I'm the One That I Want]],'' in 1995, her substance abuse was evident during a performance in [[Monroe, Louisiana]], where she was booed off the stage by 800 college students after going on the stage [[drunk]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.asianweek.com/2001_11_09/feature.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202150117/http://www.asianweek.com/2001_11_09/feature.html|url-status=dead|title=Margaret Cho's mix of raunch and self-help conquers America|archive-date=February 2, 2007}}</ref>