Trevor Noah

Trevor Noah was born on 20 February 1984 in Johannesburg, South Africa.[12][13] His father, Robert, is of Swiss ancestry, and his mother, Patricia Nombuyiselo Noah, is of Xhosa ancestry from Southern Africa. Noah has claimed that his mother converted to Judaism when he was 10 or 11 years old, although she did not have him convert.[14][15]

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 under apartheid law, and Noah highlights this in his autobiography. Interracial sexual relations and marriages were not decriminalized until a year after Noah's birth, when the Immorality Act was amended in 1985. Patricia and her mother, Nomalizo Frances Noah, raised Trevor in the black township of Soweto.[16] Noah went to Maryvale College, a private Roman Catholic high school in Johannesburg.[17][18][19]

Noah performing on his Loud and Clear tour in February 2019

In 2002, 18-year-old 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. Noah 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,[20] 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.

Noah went on to host an educational TV programme, Run the Adventure (2004–2006) on SABC 2. In 2007, he hosted The Real Goboza, a gossip-themed show on SABC 1,[1] and Siyadlala, a sports show also on the SABC. 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. 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).[2] In 2010, Noah also became a spokesperson and consumer protection agent for Cell C, South Africa's third-largest mobile phone network provider.[21]

Noah has performed all over South Africa 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).[22][23] 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).

In 2011, he relocated to the United States.[24] On 6 January 2012, Noah became the first South African stand-up comedian to appear on The Tonight Show; and, on 17 May 2013, he became the first to appear on Late Show with David Letterman.[18][25] Noah was the subject of the 2012 documentary You Laugh But It's True.[26] The same year, he starred in the one-man comedy show Trevor Noah: The Racist,[27] which was based on his similarly titled South African special That's Racist. On 12 September, Noah was the Roastmaster in a Comedy Central Roast of South African Afrikaans singer Steve Hofmeyr.[28] In 2013, he performed the comedy special Trevor Noah: African American.[29] On 11 October 2013, he was a guest on BBC Two's comedy panel show QI.[30] On 29 November 2013, he was a panelist on Channel 4 game show 8 Out of 10 Cats[31] and appeared on Sean Lock's team in 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown on 12 September 2014.

Noah has said of his comedic influences, "The kings are indisputable. Richard Pryor, [Bill] Cosby; for me personally I didn't know of him before I started comedy but Eddie Murphy changed my view on the thing and I definitely look up to him as a comedic influence. Chris Rock in terms of the modern black comedian and Dave Chappelle. Those are the guys that have laid the foundation and have moved the yardstick for all comedians, not just Black comedians."[64] He also cited Jon Stewart as an influence and a mentor, following his appointment to succeed Stewart as host of The Daily Show.[65] In an interview with The New York Times, Noah likened Stewart to "a Jewish Yoda" and recounted advice Stewart gave him, saying, "The most amazing thing that Jon did was he didn’t give me a mandate. He didn’t say, 'You need to make my show.' He specifically said: 'Make your show. Make your best version of it.' I apply those teachings of Jon’s to everything that I’m doing."[66]

Among comedians who say they were influenced by Noah are Michelle Wolf, Jordan Klepper, and Hasan Minhaj.[67][68][69] Noah's mixed-race ancestry, his experiences growing up in Soweto, and his observations about race and ethnicity are leading themes in his comedy.[70][71]

Noah is a polyglot. He speaks English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Tswana, Tsonga, and some German.[72]

In 1992, Noah's mother, Patricia Nombuyiselo married Ngisaveni Abel Shingange; they had two sons together, Andrew and Isaac. Shingange physically abused both Trevor and his mother, and the couple legally divorced in 1996.[73] In 2009, after Patricia married Sfiso Khoza, Shingange shot her in the leg and through the back of her head; she survived as the bullet went through the base of her head, avoiding the spinal cord, brain, and all major nerves and blood vessels, then exiting with minor damage to her nostril. When Noah confronted him over the phone about the shooting, Shingange threatened his life, prompting Noah to leave Johannesburg for Los Angeles.[24][74][75] In 2011, Shingange was convicted of attempted murder, and sentenced the following year to three years of correctional supervision.[76] Noah stated that he hoped the attention surrounding the incident would raise awareness of the broader issue of domestic violence in South Africa: "For years my mother reached out to police for help with domestic abuse, and nothing was ever done. This is the norm in South Africa. Dockets went missing and cases never went to court."[24]

Noah has described himself as being progressive and having a global perspective.[77] However, he has clarified that he considers himself a "progressive person", but not a "political progressive" and prefers not to be categorized as being either right or left in the context of US partisanship.[78][79]

In April 2018, he set up the Trevor Noah Foundation as a Johannesburg-based non-profit organization that equips orphans and vulnerable youth with the education, life skills, and social capital necessary to pursue further opportunities.[80]

He resides in New York City.[81]

• Noah, Trevor (2016). Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood. Spiegel & Grau. ISBN 978-0399588174.
• The Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library. Spiegel & Grau. 2018. ISBN 978-1984801883.

• New Yorkers in journalism

• Official website
• Trevor Noah at IMDb