Trevor Noah

Background

Noah was born on February 20, 1984, in Johannesburg, South Africa. His father, Robert Noah is a Swiss-German chef who opened one of the first restaurants in Johannesburg to serve black people. His mother, Patricia Nombuyiselo is a South African woman of the Xhosa tribe. At the time of his birth, interracial relationships and marriages were illegal. His mother was arrested several times for this.

When apartheid ended in South Africa, all-white schools began enrolling other races. Noah attended a private Catholic school where there was no sense of segregation. He often got himself in trouble with the administration. These events led to the school requiring him to get tested by a psychologist. He was later expelled from the school for bringing a knife to protect himself from bullies and enrolled in a government school. Noah went to Sandringham High School, a large school that represented all races.

He started his career in 2002, serving a role on an episode of “Isidingo,” a South African soap opera. Shortly after, he started hosting his own show, “Noah’s Ark” He eventually decided to focus on comedy. After gaining a lot of popularity, he returned to hosting. Over the years, he has built up his career and won several awards, including M.T.V’s Personality of the Year award in 2015, M.T.V. Movie and T.V. Awards in 2017, and Outstanding Writing in a comedy series in 2019. He has now grown to become one of the most valuable T.V. hosts in the world, with his shows selling out to over five continents.