Background and career
Hasan Minhaj ( HUSS-ən MIN-hahzh, -hahj; born September 23, 1985) is an American comedian and actor. Much of his comedy involves Indian culture and the modern American political landscape through the use of satire, observational comedy and dark comedy. His Netflix series Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj won an Emmy Award, a Peabody Award, and two Webby Awards. In 2019, he was listed in Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
After working as a stand-up comedian and appearing in minor television roles, Minhaj came to prominence for his work on The Daily Show as its senior correspondent from 2014 to 2018. He was the featured speaker at the 2017 White House Correspondents’ Dinner. His first stand-up comedy special, Homecoming King, released on Netflix in May 2017, received positive reviews from critics and won him his first Peabody Award in 2018.
Minhaj left The Daily Show in August 2018 to host a weekly comedy show, Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, which debuted on Netflix in October 2018. In April 2019, he won his second Peabody Award for Patriot Act. Minhaj released his second Netflix special, Hasan Minhaj: The King's Jester, in 2022, and appeared in season two of the Apple TV+ drama series The Morning Show in a recurring role.
Hasan Minhaj was born on September 23, 1985, in Davis, California, to Indian Muslim parents from Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. His parents, Najme and Seema Minhaj (née Usmani), immigrated to the United States from India. After his birth, he and his father, an organic chemist, remained in the U.S. His mother returned to India for eight years to complete medical school, visiting the U.S. after three years to give birth to his sister in 1989. Minhaj attended Davis Senior High School, graduating in 2003. He graduated from the University of California, Davis, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 2007.
While in college, he became interested in comedy after seeing Chris Rock's Never Scared (2004), the first stand-up special he watched. He began traveling to San Francisco to perform. In 2008, he won Wild 94.9's "Best Comic Standing" competition, which resulted in his working as an opening act for Katt Williams, Pablo Francisco and Gabriel Iglesias. He also worked part-time for the website Ning, an experience he used to write comedy. Minhaj lists Kevin Shea, W. Kamau Bell and Arj Barker as inspirations.
