Biography - Trevor Noah

Who is Trevor Noah?

Trevor Noah just knows how to tickle our funny bones. The South African comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host has been active since 2002.

Here are the facts about Noah we ought to know!

Trevor Noah – Age, Parents, Siblings

Trevor Noah was born on 20 February 1984 in Johannesburg, South Africa. His father’s name is Robert and his mother’s name is Patricia Nombuyiselo Noah. Robert is of German ancestry while Patricia is of Xhosa ethnicity.

The apartheid legislation termed Patricia as a black woman and Robert as a white man. Any sexual relationships and marriages between blacks and whites were illegal. At the time of Noah's birth, it was still not legalized.

Education, Ethnicity

Patricia was jailed and fined by the South African government. Luckily, a year after Noah’s birth marriages between black and white were legalized in the amended Immorality Act of 1985. After Patricia was released from prison, she and her mother Nomalizo Frances Noah raised Trevor Noah.

Noah was educated at Maryvale College in Johannesburg. He had always been a quick learner, starting preschool at the age of 3 and joining primary school at the age of 5.

His ethnicity includes Swiss, German, and Xhosa.

Trevor Noah – Domestic Violence, Threats

In 1992, Patricia married Ngisaveni Abel Shingange and had two sons together- Andrew and Isaac, Noah’s half-brothers. But soon the marriage went into a downward spiral. Shingange physically assaulted both Trevor Noah and Patricia. So the couple divorced in 1996.

In 2009, Patricia married Sfiso Khoza. But the jealous Shingange shot her in the leg and back of her head. Fortunately, her vital organs, nerves, and blood vessels missed the bullet. Patricia survived. When he confronted Shingange about the shooting, he was threatened with his life! So Noah looked for a better option and left Johannesburg for Los Angeles.

In 2011, Shingange was arrested and convicted on the charges of attempted murder and sentenced to 3 years of correctional supervision.

Trevor Noah urged people to pay attention to the issue of domestic violence in South Africa and around the globe.

"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."

Trevor Noah – Girlfriend, Wife, Children, Divorce

Noah was in a relationship with South African physiotherapist Dani Gabriel. They had started to date in 2014 and were even rumored to be engaged. When Trevor Noah had to move to New York to become the new Daily Show host, he had to leave his girlfriend behind.

Following their split, she had said about Noah’s celebrity status:

"Yes he’s going through this huge transition but at the end of the day he’s not a celebrity to me and he’s never treated himself like that and I don’t treat him like that, I don’t bring that into my life."

In 2015, he started to date the American model and singer Jordyn Taylor. But the two have broken up after four years together.

He went on to date model and actress Minka Kelly in August 2020. The pair separated in May 2021. It was rumored that he and Kelly were back together after the pair were pictured vacationing together.

Trevor Noah was also rumored to have dated singer Dua Lipa.

In 2024, he was reported to be in a relationship with South African influencer and business expert Zoë Leila Mabie.

He is sans wife and children and as he has never been married, divorce is out of context.

Related: Jill Wagner - host of Wipeout 

Trevor Noah: Career

Early Days

At the age of 18, in 2002 he landed a small role in Isidingo, a South African soap opera. He also had his radio show Noah's Ark on YFM. But soon he dropped his radio show and acting to pursue his career in comedy. 

He performed stage comedy with many famous names such as Riaad Moosa, Darren Simpson, Marc Lottering, Barry Hilton, Carl Barron, and Dan Ilic in South Africa until his relocation to the United States in 2011.

On TV

In 2012, he became the first South African stand-up comedian to appear on The Tonight Show. The next year on 17 May 2013, he was the first to appear on Late Show with David Letterman.

Over the years he was part of several documentaries and shows - You Laugh But It's True, Trevor Noah: The Racist, Comedy Central Roast, among others.

His career escalated when it was announced on 30 March 2015 that Noah would succeed Jon Stewart as host of The Daily Show. His new show Morning, Mandela is also set to be produced.

Noah has also appeared in series and movies including Nashville (2017), Black Panther  (2018), and American Vandal (2018).

Related: Whoopi Goldberg - Hosts The View, Actress of The Color Purple 

Born a Crime

In January 2016, Trevor announced that he had signed a book deal with Spiegel & Grau. The same year on November 15, 2016, his book Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood was published. It became a huge success and was named #1 New York Times Bestseller and Best Books of the Year by The New York Times, Newsday, Esquire, NPR, and Booklist.

A movie adaptation of his book is set to be produced which would star Lupita Nyong'o as Trevor's mother Patricia.

In 2018, it was revealed that Trevor Noah and The Daily Show writing staff will release The Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library. The book will contain hundreds of Trump tweets and forewords from Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham.

Trevor Noah – Controversy

After his tenure on The Daily Show began on 28 September 2015, several tweets of him being offensive to women, and Jews, and tragic Holocaust incidents surfaced. Trevor Noah was heavily criticized for his previous tweets.

Noah responded by tweeting:

"To reduce my views to a handful of jokes that didn't land is not a true reflection of my character, nor my evolution as a comedian."

Comedy Central also supported Trevor and released a statement:

"Like many comedians, Trevor Noah pushes boundaries; he is provocative and spares no one, himself included... To judge him or his comedy based on a handful of jokes is unfair. Trevor is a talented comedian with a bright future at Comedy Central."

Related: Jon Stewart - Hosts The Jon Stewart Show 

Trevor Noah – Net Worth, Salary

His net worth and annual salary have been estimated at around ‎$100 Million and ‎$16 Million respectively.

Trevor Noah – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

On social media handles including Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, Trevor Noah is active with millions of followers and counting.

Related: List of TV host