He went from hanging out in the living room by himself to hanging out with 32,000+ people, I’m about to share with you the story of the most successful comedian in Africa. Sit back and have a pleasant read.

Born February 20, 1984, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Trevor Noah is a South African comedian, television host, political commentator, and author. Noah’s mother was a Xhosa woman from South Africa and his father, a Swiss-German. This combo didn’t help Noah’s early childhood as he was born and raised under apartheid. His parents had to hide their relationship from authorities because interracial relationships were illegal at the time. Noah also had to live a hide-and-seek life as biracial children were often taken from their parents. 10 years after his birth, the apartheid system was abolished in South Africa. This is the major inspiration behind his book which he titled Trevor Noah: Born a crime.

In 1992, Noah’s mother married Abel Shingange. Shingange physically abused both Trevor and his mother, and the couple legally divorced in 1996. After this, Shingange still threatened to kill Trevor and even shot Trevor’s mother who narrowly escaped death in the process.

The two lessons worth noting in Trevor Noah’s life are as follows:

First, he followed his dream: Noah once said in an interview that he’s always wanted to make people laugh. This he’s achieved despite the life-threatening challenges he faced early in his life. He went from being dared by his friends (to perform a comedy routine at a nightclub) to be the first South African stand-up comedian to appear on The Tonight Show.

Secondly, he turned his disappointments to appointments: Some of his experiences while growing up, including the deep poverty his family faced, have now become the subject of Noah’s comedic work, which would often look at the racial dynamics of his native South Africa.

Today, Trevor Noah is still single although he is dating actress Minka Kelly (according to reports). He is a polyglot. He speaks English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Tswene, Tsonga and some German. He has an estimated net worth of $40million.

That’s all I have on today’s edition of Chronicles of Greatness. God willing, we’ll meet again next Wednesday ❤️

Author: Joshua Fabiyi