Trevor Noah

Trevor Noah (born 20 February 1984) is a South African comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host.

Trevor Noah was born on 20 February 1984, in Johannesburg, Transvaal (now Gauteng), South Africa.

His father, Robert, is Swiss-German, and his mother, Patricia Nombuyiselo Noah, is Xhosa.

Under apartheid legislation, Noah's mother was classified as Black, and his father was classified as White.

Noah himself was classified as Coloured.

At the time of his birth, his parents' interracial relationship was illegal, which Noah highlights in his autobiography.

Interracial sexual relations and marriages were decriminalised a year after his birth, when the Immorality Act was amended in 1985.

Patricia and her mother, Nomalizo Frances Noah, raised Trevor in the black township of Soweto.

Noah began his schooling at Maryvale College, a private Roman Catholic primary and high school in Maryvale, Gauteng, a suburb of Johannesburg.

Born in Johannesburg, Noah began his career in South Africa in 2002.

In 2002, Noah had a small role on an episode of the South African soap opera Isidingo.

He later hosted his own radio show Noah's Ark on Gauteng's leading youth-radio station, YFM.

When he was 21 years old, his friends dared him to perform a comedy routine at a nightclub.

He entertained the audience with humorous stories about his friends and his life.

After that night Noah continued performing at comedy clubs, gaining recognition along the way.

Noah hosted an educational TV programme, Run the Adventure (2004–2006) on SABC 2.

He dropped his radio show and acting to focus on comedy, and has performed with South African comedians such as David Kau, Kagiso Lediga, Riaad Moosa, Darren Simpson, Marc Lottering, Barry Hilton, and Nik Rabinowitz; international comedians such as Paul Rodriguez, Carl Barron, Dan Ilic, and Paul Zerdin; and as the opening act for American comedian Gabriel Iglesias in November 2007 and Canadian comedian Russell Peters on his South African tour.

In 2007, he hosted The Real Goboza, a gossip-themed show on SABC 1, and Siyadlala, a sports show also on the SABC.

He had several hosting roles with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and was the runner-up in the fourth season of South Africa's iteration of Strictly Come Dancing in 2008.

In 2008, Noah cohosted, alongside Pabi Moloi, The Amazing Date (a dating gameshow) and was a Strictly Come Dancing contestant in the fourth series.

In 2009, he hosted the 3rd Annual South Africa Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs) and co-hosted alongside Eugene Khoza on The Axe Sweet Life, a reality competition series.

His stand-up comedy specials in South Africa include The Daywalker (2009), Crazy Normal (2011), That's Racist (2012), and It's My Culture (2013).

From 2010 to 2011, he hosted the late-night talk show Tonight with Trevor Noah, which he created and aired on M-Net and DStv.

In 2010, Noah hosted the 16th annual South African Music Awards and also hosted Tonight with Trevor Noah on MNet (for the second series, it moved to DStv's Mzansi Magic Channel).

In 2010, Noah also became a spokesperson and consumer protection agent for Cell C, South Africa's third-largest mobile phone network provider.

Noah performed in The Blacks Only Comedy Show, the Heavyweight Comedy Jam, the Vodacom Campus Comedy Tour, the Cape Town International Comedy Festival, the Jozi Comedy Festival, and Bafunny Bafunny (2010).

In 2011, he relocated to the United States.

In January 2012, Noah became the first South African stand-up comedian to appear on The Tonight Show; and in May 2013, he became the first to appear on Late Show with David Letterman.

Noah was the subject of the 2012 documentary You Laugh But It's True.

The same year, he starred in the one-man comedy show Trevor Noah: The Racist, which was based on his similarly titled South African special That's Racist.

In September 2012, Noah was the Roastmaster in a Comedy Central Roast of South African Afrikaans singer Steve Hofmeyr.

In 2013, he performed the comedy special Trevor Noah: African American. In October 2013, he was a guest on BBC Two's comedy panel show QI.

In 2014, Noah became the Senior International Correspondent for The Daily Show, and in 2015 succeeded long-time host Jon Stewart.

He was the host of The Daily Show, an American late-night talk show and satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 2015 to 2022.

Noah has won various awards, including two Primetime Emmy Awards.

His autobiographical comedy book Born a Crime was published in 2016.

He hosted the 63rd, 64th, 65th, and 66th Annual Grammy Awards as well as the 2022 White House Correspondents Dinner.

He was named one of "The 35 Most Powerful People in New York Media" by The Hollywood Reporter in 2017 and 2018.

In 2018, Time magazine named him one of the hundred most influential people in the world.

In 2023, he won the Erasmus Prize.