Trevor Noah is arguably South Africa’s best export. The comedian is the first African comedian to sell-out the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden in New York. He also is the first black host of “The Daily Show”. The Daily Show is a well-known American late-night talk and news comedy show. When it was announced that Trevor would be the host of the show, the internet ‘broke’ with South Africans cheering for him. But the comedian’s birth was a crime, as he says in the title of his critically acclaimed book “Born A Crime”.

Trevor Noah was born on the 20th of February 1984, in South Africa. He was born to a black, Xhosa mom and a white Swiss father. At the time, their union was a crime under the apartheid laws, the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, Act No. 55 of 1949. That didn’t stop their love, and Trevor jokes about his past in his comedy special “The Daywalker”.

In his comedy special, Trevor tells stories from when he was growing up in the streets of Soweto, and was treated differently because he was mixed race. Even in his family his grandmother wouldn’t spank him like other kids, which he enjoyed. He jokes about how his two families were different: ‘the white side’ and ‘the black side’. His dad always encouraged him to use his imagination, and he had an imaginary friend which his father embraced. But he made the mistake of taking his imaginary friend to his grandmother’s house and she gave him the hiding of his life and said he was bewitched.

Trevor has treasured memories of his childhood, though he says he couldn’t walk with his mother and father on the street because his mother would be arrested.

Trevor has made it from the dusty streets of Soweto to the limelight and big stages in the U.S.A and has won multiple comedy awards. Despite being “Born a Crime” he is a true inspiration.

Tell us: Have you watched Trevor Noah? What do you enjoy about him?