Jon Stewart

His father Donald Leibowitz (1931–2013) was an energy coordinator for the New Jersey Department of the Treasury, and his mother Marian Leibowitz (née Laskin) was a teacher and later an educational consultant.

Stewart's family is Ashkenazi Jewish (Polish-Jewish, Ukrainian-Jewish, Belarusian-Jewish, and possibly Lithuanian-Jewish); his parents had immigrated to the United States from Europe.

One of his grandfathers was born in Manzhouli, present-day China.

He is the second of four sons, with older brother Lawrence and younger brothers Dan and Matthew.

Stewart's parents divorced when he was eleven years old, and Stewart was largely estranged from his father.

Due to his strained relationship with his father, he dropped his surname and began using his middle name alone, stating: "There was a thought of using my mother's maiden name, but I thought that would be just too big (of) a 'fuck you' to my dad.... Did I have some problems with my father? Yes. Yet people always view [changing my surname] through the prism of ethnic identity."

Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, political commentator, actor, and television host.

The former head coach of the Tribe men's soccer team from 1971 to 2003, Al Albert, describes Jon as "athletic and feisty and quick" and added that he "wasn't the most technical or clinical player, but he could make things happen."

Stewart hosted the 78th and 80th Academy Awards.

After graduating from Lawrence High School in 1980, Stewart attended the College of William & Mary, where he initially majored in chemistry before switching to psychology.

While at William & Mary, Stewart became a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, but eventually began disassociating himself from them, leaving the fraternity altogether after six months.

"My college career was waking up late, memorizing someone else's notes, doing bong hits, and going to soccer practice", he later said.

He was a three-year starter in 1981, 1982 and 1983 with the Tribe men's soccer team.

He had 10 goals and 12 assists on a squad that went 40–15–9 (.695) in his three seasons with the program.

He is listed as Jon Leibowitz in official William & Mary Athletics records.

He graduated from William & Mary in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts.

He went on to host You Wrote It, You Watch It (1992–1993) and then The Jon Stewart Show (1993–1995), both on MTV, until The Jon Stewart Show was retooled, dropped by the network and moved to syndication.

He is a host of The Daily Show, a satirical news program on Comedy Central, and previously hosted from 1999 to 2015, before returning as a host of the show in 2024.

He hosted The Problem with Jon Stewart (2021–2023) on Apple TV+.

Stewart has received numerous accolades, including 22 Primetime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and five Peabody Awards.

He has also appeared in several films, including Big Daddy (1999) and Death to Smoochy (2002).

Stewart became host of The Daily Show in 1999, where he also was a writer and co-executive producer.

Since he joined, The Daily Show steadily gained popularity and critical acclaim, and during his tenure won numerous Emmy Awards and was nominated for news and journalism awards.

He had his surname legally changed to "Stewart" in 2001.

He is the co-author of the best-selling satirical books America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction in 2004, and Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race in 2010.

He executive produced The Colbert Report (2005–2014), The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore (2015–2016), and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015–present).

In January 2024, it was announced that he would return to The Daily Show for Monday episodes, as well as in the role of an executive producer.

Since leaving The Daily Show, Stewart has maintained a low profile in entertainment industry circles, but has used his celebrity and voice in a sustained advocacy for 9/11 first responders and war veterans' health benefits.

In 2015, he described his relationship with his father as "still complicated" in light of his father's death two years earlier.

Stewart and his brother Lawrence, who was previously the chief operating officer of NYSE Euronext (parent company of the New York Stock Exchange), grew up in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

Stewart has stated that he experienced much antisemitism as a child, having been bullied frequently due to his Jewish identity.

He describes himself in high school as "very into Eugene Debs and a bit of a leftist."

Stewart grew up in the era of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, which inspired in him "a healthy skepticism towards official reports."

His first job was working with his brother at a Woolworth's store, and has jokingly said that being fired by Lawrence was one of the "scarring events" of his youth.

He has also credited renowned television producer Norman Lear as someone who "raised me."

He was honored with the Bronze Medallion in 2019, and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2022.

Stewart started as a stand-up comedian but branched into television as host of Short Attention Span Theater for Comedy Central.

In 2019, he received the New York City Bronze Medallion for his "tireless advocacy, inspiration, and leadership (helping to) pass the permanent authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act".

He continued using his platform as an advocate for veterans by being instrumental in helping pass the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022, which expands healthcare access and funding to veterans exposed to toxic substances during their service including burn pits.

Stewart was born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz at Doctors Hospital in the Upper East Side of New York City.