Stephen Colbert

Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host, born on May 13, 1964, in Washington, D.C. Raised in a Catholic family in South Carolina as the youngest of eleven children, his youth was marked by the loss of his father and two brothers in a 1974 plane crash. He attended the Porter-Gaud School and initially studied philosophy at Hampden–Sydney College before transferring to Northwestern University as a theater major, graduating in 1986.

After college, Colbert began his career in improvisation in Chicago. He worked at The Second City's box office, took classes at their training center, and was eventually hired as an understudy for Steve Carell in the touring company. During his time at Second City, he met fellow comedians Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello. The trio relocated to New York and created the sketch comedy series Exit 57. Colbert subsequently wrote and performed on The Dana Carvey Show in 1996, provided the voice of Ace in the animated sketch The Ambiguously Gay Duo, and co-created, wrote, and starred in the Comedy Central sitcom Strangers with Candy.

In 1997, Colbert joined Comedy Central's news-parody series The Daily Show as a correspondent, a role that brought him wide public recognition. He left the show in 2005 to launch and host his own news satire program, The Colbert Report. Portraying a caricatured version of conservative political pundits, Colbert introduced the concept of truthiness in the premiere episode. His in-character performance at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner helped make the series one of Comedy Central's highest-rated shows. He later co-headlined the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in 2010 and formed the satirical Colbert Super PAC in 2011 to raise awareness about campaign finance.

Following the conclusion of The Colbert Report in 2014, Colbert succeeded David Letterman as the host of CBS's late-night talk show The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in 2015, hosting the franchise through 2026. In September 2017, he also served as the host for the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Over the course of his career, Colbert has won eleven Primetime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and three Peabody Awards. He was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People in both 2006 and 2012. Additionally, his 2007 book, I Am America (And So Can You!), reached number one on The New York Times Best Seller list.