Background and career
Trevor Noah (born 20 February 1984) is a South African comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, and television host. 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. 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 100 most influential people in the world.
Born in Johannesburg, Noah began his career in South Africa in 2008. 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. 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 2014, Noah became the Senior International Correspondent for The Daily Show, and in 2015 succeeded long-time host Jon Stewart. His autobiographical comedy book Born a Crime was published in 2016. He has hosted the Grammy Awards for six consecutive years, from 2021 to 2026, as well as the 2022 White House Correspondents Dinner.
Trevor Noah was born on 20 February 1984 in Johannesburg, Transvaal province, (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 Born a Crime. Interracial sexual relations and marriages were decriminalized 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.
