Linda Cho is a Korean-born costume designer raised in Canada and based in the U.S. She has designed costumes for more than 15 Broadway productions,"Linda Cho", Internet Broadway database. Retrieved October 19, 2025 won two Tony Awards and been nominated for three more. She has also designed for opera and ballet companies, including the Metropolitan Opera and American Ballet Theatre, among others.
Early life and education Born to an oil painter mother, Min Soon Cho, in Seoul and raised in Toronto, Cho attended Paris American Academy for fashion (1991), received a BA from McGill University in Montreal (1995) and an MFA in design from Yale School of Drama (1998).
Career By 2019, Cho had designed costumes for more than 200 productions. Her designs have been seen in productions on Broadway, off-Broadway, in U.S. regional theatres, Canada, Britain (including Royal Shakespeare Company) and Asia.Robin, Brian. "Linda Cho – Award-Winning Costume Designer", South Coast Repertory, February 20, 2024 In addition to plays and musicals, she has designed for opera companies, including the Metropolitan OperaVine, Hannah. "First Look at Samson et Dalila at the Metropolitan Opera", Playbill, September 18, 2018; and Browner, Christopher. "Back to the Future", Metropolitan Opera (2018)"AAPI Artists Who Are Changing the Game", Los Angeles Opera, May 14, 2024 and dance companies, including American Ballet Theatre."Dream within a Dream (deferred)", American Ballet Theatre, October 17, 2018
Cho says that her pre-design research of each work's era is her favorite part of the design process. However, she has taken liberties regarding historical accuracy. In her work for Anastasia, for example, the Parisian costumes "[have] a heightened flair; it’s not true 1920s," as she instead wanted to invoke "a playful, pushed, bright feeling, like a young lady’s fantasy of what Paris is, a romanticized view, to have an opposite effect of the Russian revolution costumes". In other cases, her costumes have strayed from historical accuracy to allow dancers to perform "non-period movement", to appeal to the modern gaze, or to allow for quick changes backstage. In creating her designs, she uses a pencil and small watercolor set, allowing her to work while on a plane. She says that her design sketches are done in about an hour. When picking fabrics for her designs, she prefers to choose all the fabric for the production at one time, rather than to "design one gown in isolation".
Personal life Cho has two children. She created her own wedding dress, as well as the dresses she has worn to the Tony Awards ceremonies.
Costume design credits Broadway Source A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (2013) The Velocity of Autumn (2014) Anastasia (2017) The Lifespan of a Fact (2018) The Great Society (2019) Grand Horizons (2020) POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive (2022) Take Me Out (2022) Summer, 1976 (2023) Harmony (2023) Doubt: A Parable (2024) The Great Gatsby (2024) Pirates! The Penzance Musical (2025) Art (2025) Ragtime (2025) Schmigadoon! (2026)
Off-Broadway The Chinese Lady The Half-God of Rainfall
Awards and nominations Source +YearAwardsCategoryWorkResult2014Irene Sharaff AwardsYoung Master AwardOuter Critics Circle AwardsOutstanding Costume DesignA Gentleman's Guide to Love and MurderTony AwardsBest Costume Design in a Musical2017Drama Desk AwardsOutstanding Costume Design of a MusicalAnastasiaOuter Critics Circle AwardsOutstanding Costume DesignTony AwardsBest Costume Design of a Musical2022Drama Desk AwardsOutstanding Costume Design for a PlayThe Chinese Lady2024Lucille Lortel AwardsOutstanding Costume DesignThe Half-God of RainfallOuter Critics Circle AwardsOutstanding Costume DesignThe Great GatsbyTony AwardsBest Costume Design of a Musical2026RagtimeSchmigadoon!Outer Critics Circle AwardsOutstanding Costume DesignMiller, Deb. "Winners of the 2026 Outer Critics Circle Awards for Broadway and Off-Broadway", DC Theater Arts, May 11, 2026
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