Trevor Noah’s mom and dad: Meet Patricia Nombuyiselo Noah and Robert

Trevor Noah is a South African comic. Until 2022, the stand-up comedian was a globally acclaimed television host on Comedy Central’s Daily Show. In addition to the show, he is best known for his book, Born a Crime and TV Special, Trevor Noah: Son of Patricia, in which he speaks extensively about his complicated parentage during Apartheid. Learn more about Trevor Noah’s mom and dad in this piece

Trevor Noah at the 2023 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (L). Trevor Noah's mother, Patricia, reacts during a photoshoot (R).

Who are Trevor Noah’s parents? In addition to his book, Trevor Noah has regaled his audiences through stand-up comedy and the television show with stories of his parents’ struggles to raise him. The hilarity of his mother’s ingenious methods of raising him and his father’s background has raised curiosities about their personal lives.

Trevor Noah’s mom and dad Trevor was born to a Swiss-German father and a Xhosa mother during the Apartheid period in South Africa. Cultural and racial differences between his mother, Patricia Nombuyiselo Noah and Robert, his father, brought on many challenges that Trevor has openly spoken about. The stand-up comedian was born on 20 February 1984 in Johannesburg, Gauteng (formerly Transvaal), South Africa. He is 40 years old as of July 2024. His zodiac sign is Pisces. Patricia Nombuyiselo Noa Patricia Nombuyiselo Noah was born on 24 September 1964 in South Africa. She is 60 years old as of July 2024, and her zodiac sign is Virgo

A young Trevor Noah and his mom pictured in an embrace (L). Patricia Nombuyiselo Noah is pictured against a brown background (R).

She grew up in Soweto with her mother and later in Transkei with her paternal aunt. Growing up during the Apartheid era transformed her into a defiant and compelling figure whose influence shaped Trevor Noah’s career as one of South Africa’s funniest comedians.

In Transkei, she attended a missionary school where she learnt English. At 21, she began training as a secretary, a profession that was not allowed for black people during the Apartheid era. While at Transkei, she worked at a local factory where she was paid in meals. In the 1980s, racial restrictions on clerical work were reduced, allowing her to get work at a pharmaceutical company in a suburb of Johannesburg. At 22, Patricia moved from Soweto to escape what she described as a black tax. She moved to Johannesburg, a city she was forbidden from living in as a black person. Before finding an apartment, Patricia would sleep in public restrooms. Her defiant spirit and an uncommon friendship with Xhosa prostitutes in Johannesburg allowed her to get an apartment in Hillbrow, a liberal area, under a white man’s name. At the time, some white men were willing to rent apartments for black women at a price. Shortform notes that she wore a maid’s uniform and carried an ID to conceal herself and avoid suspicion.