Trevor Noah is a South African television and radio host, political commentator, and comedian who is perhaps best known for hosting the American satirical news program on Comedy Central known as The Daily Show. Trevor Noah was born on February 20, 1984, in Johannesburg, South Africa; his father is of Swiss German ancestry and his mother is of Xhosa ancestry. Under apartheid law, his parent’s interracial relationship was illegal at the time of his birth, and his mother was both fined and jailed by the South African government. Noah attended a private Catholic school in Johannesburg and attended Roman Catholic Church every Sunday. In 2002, Noah was cast in a small role on the South African soap opera Isidingo. Noah attributes his comedic inspiration to Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, Eddie Murphy, Dave Chapelle, and Chris Rock.

Noah is knowledgeable about many languages and speaks English, German, Xhosa, Zulu, Sotho, Tswana, Tsonga, and Afrikaans. In 2016, Noah published the New York Times Bestseller, Born a Crime, which was named one of the best books of the year by Newsday. Noah announced a second book in February of 2018; it would be written by Noah and The Daily Show staff and be called The Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library.