What Is Trevor Noah’s Nationality?

Trevor Noah is an international stand up comedian, who, in 2015, succeeded Jon Stewart as host of Comedy Central’s, The Daily Show. The South African born comic has seen much success since moving to America to pursue his career.

At 35-years-old, Noah seems to have it all. But life wasn’t always so glamorous. He might laugh about it now and use his past in his stand up routine, but times were hard when he was younger.

What is Trevor Noah’s nationality?

If you are looking at his beautiful face and hearing his accent, you might be trying to figure out what nationality Noah is. You are not alone. A quick internet search comes up with well over 65 million hits on the subject. Here is a quick recap of his nationality and back story.

He was born in apartheid-era South Africa. His mother is a black Xhosa woman, and his father is white, of Swiss-German descent. They needed to keep their relationship a secret due to the country’s oppression and segregation. The very fact that Noah was born was a crime at the time.

Trevor Noah’s life started with a crime

Noah’s life started out as a crime. His parents were interracial, making his birth illegal. While growing up, it wasn’t unusual for his mother to be caught trying to see his father. The country was segregated at the time, so she needed to sneak around. 

When she would be caught, she would get a few days in jail. Sometimes she would be gone for a couple of weeks, reports NPR. He spent a lot of his early years in hiding because, if found, he would be taken away from his family, and his parents might face several years in prison.

He told Fresh Air: “My grandmother kept me locked in the house when I was staying with the family in Soweto. If the police did show up… it was a constant game of hide-and-seek.”

Everything changed when he moved to America

It’s hard to imagine that Noah had to hide from police as a child, and now he owns a $20 million Bel-Air bachelor pad. In 1994, when he was 10-years-old, the apartheid ended. He and his mother still had challenges, but his existence was no longer against the law.

Noah caught the acting bug in his late teens when he appeared on a soap opera. After that, a dare from his friends got him on stage at a comedy show. This decision ultimately started his career as a comedian in his early twenties. Stand up comedy led him to a foreign correspondent job for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. 

In 2015, Comedy Central offered him the hosting job, and he accepted. Everything changed for Noah when he moved to America. His newfound success came with some controversy from people who knew little about his background. The release and success of his book, Born A Crime, shed insight into this life.

Fun facts about Trevor Noah that you’ll want to know

Did you know that Noah speaks eight languages fluently? It’s true. He knows six different South African languages, in addition to English and German, reports MSNBC.

Another fact many people don’t know is that growing up; he was plagued with acne. It was so bad that he would hang out in the corner and keep to himself. He was put on several different treatments with little luck. It affected his self-esteem, and some of the medications caused depression.

Not that any of that matters now, with his handsome face and clear complexion. His past has only made him stronger, and we have a feeling more success is on the horizon.