Trevor Noah

Trevor Noah was born in 1984 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Trevor Noah's background is described as Xhosa mother, Swiss-German father — a union apartheid law criminalized. Growing up, the family was working class — his mother, a typist who defied the law to have him, could not walk beside him in public; he was kept indoors at his grandmother's in Soweto so neighbors wouldn't see. Born a crime under apartheid — his parents' relationship was illegal; his mother once threw him from a moving minibus to save him.

Born

1984 · Johannesburg, South Africa

Roots

Xhosa mother, Swiss-German father — a union apartheid law criminalized

Family

Working class

His mother, a typist who defied the law to have him, could not walk beside him in public; he was kept indoors at his grandmother's in Soweto so neighbors wouldn't see.

Education

Maryvale College, Johannesburg; no university

Started with

A borrowed language

Grew up switching among a half-dozen languages — the code-switching that became the comedy.

Affiliations & societies

None documented.

Information only — claims like these are often unverifiable and may be wrong.

The pathway

1. 1984 · age 0
   Born a crime

   Mixed-race relationships carried prison terms; his birth certificate lists no father.

2. 1993 · age 9
   Thrown from a minibus

   His mother hurls him from a moving vehicle to escape a threatening driver — the opening story of his memoir.

3. 2002 · age 18
   Township hustle

   Pirated CDs and DJ sets in Alexandra; a soap-opera bit part opens broadcasting.

4. 2011 · age 27
   First South African on Leno

   US comedy circuit after conquering local radio and TV.

5. 2015 · age 31
   The Daily Show

   Succeeds Jon Stewart to widespread skepticism; runs it for seven years.

6. 2016 · age 32
   Born a Crime

   The memoir tops bestseller lists; his mother — who survived being shot by his stepfather — is its hero.