Arden Lim Cho (born August 16, 1985) is an American actress, singer and model known for portraying

Kira Yukimura Kira may refer to: People * Kira clan, a Japanese clan, descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) * Kira (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Kira Chikazane (1563–1588), Japanese retainer * Kira (German singer) (Janin ...

in the 2011 MTV television series ''

Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age romantic fantasy comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is changed ...

'' and Ingrid Yun in the 2022 Netflix television series ''

Partner Track '' Partner Track'' is an American legal drama streaming television series developed by Georgia Lee, based on Helen Wan's 2013 novel ''The Partner Track''. It premiered on Netflix on August 26, 2022. In November 2022, the series was canceled aft ...

''.

Early life and education

Cho was born in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for " yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Co ...

Korean-American Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian America ...

parents and was raised in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

and

Plano, Texas Plano ( ) is a city in Collin County and Denton County, Texas, United States. It had a population of 285,494 at the 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. History European settlers came to the area near ...

. Growing up in areas with few ethnic minorities, she often felt like an outsider. As a child, she was bullied and was hospitalized twice for injuries after being physically attacked. She later attended high school in

Apple Valley, Minnesota Apple Valley is a city in northwestern Dakota County in the State of Minnesota, and a suburb of the Twin Cities. The population was 56,374 at the 2020 census, making it the 17th most populous city in Minnesota. In 2014, Money.com' named Apple ...

. Cho attended the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univers ...

with the intentions of becoming a lawyer. It was there that she took her first drama classes and developed an interest in the profession. There, she also became more exposed to the Asian American culture at large; she also participated in the Asian American Association's Fashion Show. She graduated in 2007 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

and subsequently spent the following summer on a medical missionary trip in Kenya.

Career

Acting

Upon her return from Kenya, she moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, where she worked odd jobs while trying to pursue a career in acting. Although she did not have any screen credits at the time, her first agent took her on due to her resume of musical and physical talents, which included ballet, cello, piano, amongst others. Cho has appeared in films, television series, and commercials in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and Asia. In 2008, Cho played the grown-up lead of Hyori (the younger version being played by

Megan Lee Megan Lee (born September 18, 1995) is a Korean-American singer-songwriter and actress best known for her role as Sun Hi Song on '' Make It Pop'' and her singing talents on YouTube. From February 2013, Megan Lee was signed to Kim Tae-woo's (lead ...

) in the short film ''My First Crush'', directed by Rocky Jo. In 2011, she appeared in the role of Pru, a friend of Paige McCullers (

Lindsey Shaw Lindsey Shaw (born May 10, 1989) is an American actress. She is known for playing Jennifer "Moze" Mosely on the Nickelodeon series '' Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide''. She also co-starred in the 2007 CW sitcom '' Aliens in America'', ...

) in Season 1, Episode 20 ("Someone to Watch Over Me"), of the

ABC Family The American cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and six different name changes) during its h ...

show ''

Pretty Little Liars ''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American mystery teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series was broadcast on Freeform between June 8, 2010, and June ...

''. She also appeared in the role of Gia in the monster film '' Mega Python vs. Gatoroid'', directed by Mary Lambert. In 2014, Cho joined the TV series ''

'' as Kira, starting as a recurring character in season 3 but was promoted to a main cast role in season 4. In April 2016, ahead of her talk at

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois s ...

for Asian American Awareness Month, Cho posted a

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

video on her personal channel revealing that she would not return for season 6 of ''Teen Wolf''. In 2017, Cho was cast as a recurring character on season 3 of ''

Chicago Med ''Chicago Med'' is an American medical drama television series created by Dick Wolf and Matt Olmstead, and is the third installment of Wolf Entertainment's ''Chicago'' franchise. The series premiered on NBC on November 17, 2015. ''Chicago Me ...

'' as Dr. Ethan Choi's sister. In 2022, Cho starred as the lead character Ingrid Yun in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

series ''

''.

YouTube

Cho was previously a part of the "Artichoke and Peachies" joint YouTube blogging channel with Grace Su. The account has since been shut down. She has also appeared in the

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single in ...

''KTown Cowboys''. She has her own YouTube channel, ardenBcho, with over 300 videos, predominantly featuring vlogging, song covers, and original music videos. She had over 500,000 subscribers as of February 2020.

Modeling

Cho won the 2004

Miss Korea Miss Korea ( ko, 미스코리아) is a national beauty pageant in South Korea. Lee Seung-hyeon won the title on October 26, 2022. History The first Miss Korea competition took place in 1957 and was sponsored by the Korean newspaper Hankook I ...

Chicago competition, giving her the opportunity to take part in the Miss Korea Pageant in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

. At one point, she was in talks for a television show in Korea but walked away from the opportunity due to weight loss and plastic surgery requirements. In 2010, the cosmetic brand

Clinique Clinique Laboratories, LLC () is an American manufacturer of skincare, cosmetics, toiletries and fragrances, usually sold in high-end department stores. It is a subsidiary of the Estée Lauder Companies. As of 2019, Clinique has over 22,000 cus ...

announced Cho as the model for their newest advertisement campaign in Asia. The campaign was launched in mid-November 2010. Cho modeled for

Reebok Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...

Korea in 2010 and for

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

Japan in 2008. She has also modeled for

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ances ...

and

Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen CBE (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen label in 1992, and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His achievements in fashi ...

and appeared in ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'', ''

Purple Fashion Purple is a French fashion, art and culture magazine founded in 1992. History In 1992, Elein Fleiss and Olivier Zahm started the magazine ''Purple Prose'' as a reaction against the superficial glamour of the 1980s; much as a part of the global ...

'' and ''

Nylon Magazine ''Nylon'' is an American multimedia brand, publishing company, and lifestyle magazine that focuses on pop culture and fashion. Its coverage includes art, beauty, music, design, celebrities, technology and travel. Originally a print publication, i ...

''.

Music

In 2010, Cho and ''Ktown Cowboys'' actor Shane Yoon were the MCs for the Korean music group

JYJ JYJ (formerly known as Junsu/Jejung/Yuchun in Japan) is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 by Kim Junsu, Kim Jae-joong, and Park Yoo-chun, the three former members of TVXQ. Their group name is taken from the initial letters of each member's n ...

's tour in the United States. In 2011, Cho released her first single, "I'm Just a Girl". Cho was the co-writer, composer and singer; Ed Huang was co-writer and music producer. On February 25, 2011, Cho released a self-produced music video for the single on YouTube featuring Tim Lacatena. Cho had plans to

tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

her debut EP ''My True Happy'' in 2013 before landing a recurring role on ''Teen Wolf''. Cho premiered her single "Simply" in September 2019.

Other ventures

Cho is an avid poker player and has been playing since 2002. She competed in the 2018

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker p ...

, placing 662nd with $21,750. On February 6, 2019, it was announced that Cho had become CEO of Leonard & Church, a New York City-based watch company.

Personal life

Cho is a Christian. Cho is a black belt in taekwondo and grew up training with her father, who is a grandmaster. In April 2021, in the midst of an uptick in anti-Asian racism regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, Cho said she was walking her dog when a man called her slurs and threatened her life. She picked up her dog and ran when he approached her. She said the increase in hate crimes "has triggered a lot of these hildhoodmemories".

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Web series

References

External links

*
Arden Cho
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Cho, Arden Living people 1985 births 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American businesswomen Actresses from Dallas Actresses from Minnesota American female models American film actresses American models of Korean descent American poker players American television actresses American video game actresses Apple Valley High School (Minnesota) alumni Female models from Minnesota Female models from Texas Female poker players People from Amarillo, Texas People from Dakota County, Minnesota University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni