After Marc Cherry graduated from the theater program at California State University, Fullerton, he considered a career in acting. However, in 1986, he decided to pursue writing. He moved to Hollywood after winning $15,000 on The $100,000 Pyramid. His first break was working as a personal assistant for Designing Women’s Dixie Carter. By 1990 he was working as a writer and producer for The Golden Girls.

In 2002, after a conversation with his mother, he was inspired to create Desperate Housewives. The show premiered in the fall of 2004 and was a huge hit for ABC. In 2006, Cherry was awarded the Log Cabin Republican’s American Visibility Award for being a well-known, respected gay writer / producer. Fun fact: Cherry played himself in an episode of Arrested Development, a show created by his Golden Girls co-writer Mitchell Hurwitz.