The son of a white Swiss father and black South African mother, Trevor Noah started his entertainment career as an actor or on the South African soap opera, Isidingo in 2002, when he was 18. After a stint as a radio and TV performer he decided to to focus stand-up and his stand-up comedy specials in South Africa include The Daywalker (2009), Crazy Normal (2011), That's Racist (2012), and It's My Culture (2013).

Noah made his Edinburgh Fringe debut in 2012 with his show The Racist, which was produced with the support of Eddie Izzard. He was the first South African stand-up comedian to appear on The Tonight Show (2012) and The Late Show with David Letterman (2013).

In December 2014, he joined The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as a correspondent.