Meet Patricia Noah-Mother Of The Daily Show Host Trevor Noah
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Patricia Noah is a South African media personality. She is popularly known as the mother of Trevor Noah. Her son is a comedian, TV presenter, actor, and political commentator.

Trevor is the host of the American satirical news program The Daily Show on Comedy Central. He also previously hosted the talk show Tonight with Trevor Noah on M-Nt and DStv.

Trevor Noah’s mother, Patricia, attracted even more media attention after her 38-year-old son published his autobiographical comedy book Born a Criminal in 2016. The book tells the story of Trevor’s upbringing in his native South Africa at a time when it was considered a crime to have a mixed-race child.

Here are many unknown facts about Patricia, including her difficult childhood, education, and work. Also, find out how Trevor was born during apartheid.

Who Is Patricia Noah? Details Of Her Parents and Childhood

Patricia Nombuiselo Noah is a South African media personality and the mother of well-known comedian Trevor Noah. She was born in South Africa to Temperance and Nomalizo Francis Noah.

She is a South African citizen and of Xhosa or Nguni ethnic origin. As reported, Noah was the middle child who was sent to live with her father. However, his father later sent him to live with his sister (aunt) in the Transkei.

While Trevor was in Transkei, the celebrity mother shared accommodation with 14 other cousins from different parents, including the aunt’s children.

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Patricia Noah Grew Up In Extreme Poverty As A Child

Noah grew up in poverty in South Africa, not to mention the fact that she grew up with 14 peers. With very little land allocated by the government, people were forced to live in very small spaces.

Without electricity, water, adequate food, and arid soil, sustaining their lives was an extreme sport. In the absence of money, people supported themselves by farming.

Noa was also forced to earn for herself. She helped with the farm work. Even then, there was barely enough food for all the children. She had to fight with others to get even a handful of food.

Sometimes when they had no food, Patricia would steal animal feed, scraps, or whatever she had on hand to fill her stomach.

Patricia Noah Studied At The Missionary School

When she got older, Patricia decided to learn to read and write, so she enrolled in a missionary school that is still in operation. After learning to read and write, she got a job in a nearby factory, where she received a meal a day as a reward.

Without forgetting, Noa had lived for about 12 years with her aunt and other cousins. She returned to Soweto after her aunt fell ill, but this time her stay there was short-lived as she soon moved to Johannesburg. She moved to Johannesburg to escape the cycle of poverty and to avoid the “black tax”.

At a time when there were not many jobs available for black people, Noa luckily got a job as a typist. These types of jobs were usually reserved for whites or other skilled jobs or managerial positions.

As reported, at the age of 22, Patricia Noah got a job as a secretary in a large pharmaceutical company in a white area of Johannesburg.

How Did Patricia Noah Manage To Live In Johannesburg During The Apartheid Era?

Although the mother of a budding comedian got a respectable job in the area, it was still considered a crime for black people to live there. So Noah started looking for alternative ways to spend the night.

At first, Noa slept in public toilets and here and there. Later, she met some Xhosa prostitutes who taught her how to live an elegant lifestyle in the city. They taught her how to disguise herself as a maid and do her job as inconspicuously as possible.

Unfortunately, despite her training and her efforts to disguise herself, she was often caught and arrested by the guards. But when she earned enough money, she paid the fine and continued to do the same.

Patricia Noah Met Trevor Noah’s Father In Hillbrow

While living in Hillbrow, Noah met a Swiss-German man called Robert Lloyd. Robert was twice Noah’s age and considered him a casual friend. One evening, however, Patricia asked Robert to have a baby with her, even though they were not romantically involved.

She also told him that he did not have to pay child support or take part in the child’s life if he did not want to. At first, Robert refused, saying he did not want a child, but later he agreed to Noa.

At that time, interracial childbirth was a crime for blacks and whites, punishable by 5 years in prison. However, on 20 February 1984, the couple welcomed Trevor Noah.

Despite having a child together, Patricia and Robert never spent time or lived together as a couple. Shortly after Trevor was born, she moved to Joubert Park.

In addition, Robert occasionally went out of his way to see his son. He later moved to Cape Town and lost contact with Trevor for several years.

How Did Patricia Manage To Escape Jail Time Despite Having A Colored Baby?

As mentioned above, it was illegal to have children of color at that time. So to protect Trevor’s identity, Patricia told the doctors that the father of her child was from another country.

The doctors believed her story and wrote “other country” as the father’s nationality on her son’s birth certificate. The father’s occupation was also left blank.

Patricia then hid her son’s identity as much as she could, wrapping him in a nappy to cover him. When Trevor began to grow up, she acted as a maid to Trevor’s alleged parents.

Trevor’s alleged parents were white women who lived in the same building and willingly agreed to help Patricia. While walking with her son and this lady, she called her ‘Queen’ and pretended to be her maid in front of the police officers.

She practically brought up Trevor in prison and in isolation from the world to avoid imprisonment.

Patricia Noah’s Marriage To Her First Husband Abel Ngisaveni: They Shared Two Children Together

As early as 1992, Noah’s path crossed with her husband Abel Ngisaveni when her Volkswagen car repeatedly needed repairs. As time passed, she and Abel fell in love and they decided to take their relationship to the next level.

After signing the marriage documents, Abel and Patricia became husband and wife. At the time of the wedding, Trevor was only 8 years old. In addition, he did not like Abel very much and had bad feelings about him.

Trevor’s half-brother Andrew was born a year later, in 1993. While everything was going well, Patricia Noa’s then-husband Ngisaveni started drinking alcohol and became violent towards his family, especially Patricia.

After a long period of torment, Noa moved to live with her mother. During this time Abel asked for forgiveness and asked Patricia to move in with him. Unfortunately, things started to go downhill again when their family business, Mighty Mechanics, collapsed and Noah moved away for good.

As the former couple tried to repair their relationship, they welcomed their second son, Isaac. However, Abel’s bad habits were not fixed, and Patricia obtained a divorce from Abel in 1996.

Patricia Noah’s Ex-Husband Abel Nigsaveni Shot Her In The Face For Revenge

After divorcing her abusive husband Abel, Noa found love for the second time. She was married to her second husband, Sfiso Khoza, and lived a happy life until 2009.

Unfortunately, Abel later shot Patricia in the face at their home in Johannesburg, hoping to kill her. According to Patricia herself, Abel tracked her down and shot her in the face and back, breaking her jaw and piercing her skull, nose, and ear.

Abel even shot her second spouse, Khoza, several times. Nigsaveni was subsequently arrested and pleaded guilty to charges of attempted murder.

During the trial, when Patricia called Abel, he threatened to hunt down the then 25-year-old Trevor and kill her. Fortunately, Trevor had fled to Los Angeles. Nigsaveni was sentenced to three years of correctional supervision by a magistrate in Dieppe.

During an interview with Daily Mail, the mother of three said,

“I am lucky to be alive. When God writes he has to write for humans and he gives you a message that God is bigger than death.”

She also revealed that she had been treated under an assumed name because she feared her ex-husband would come to “finish the job” at the hospital.

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How Did Patricia Noah Influence Her Son’s Success In The Comedy World?

Patricia had a lot of difficulties growing up and one of the things she learned from life was to use humor to cope with pain. Even during her treatment for attempted murder, Patricia would joke with Trevor, saying,

“Look on the bright side: Now you’re officially the best-looking person in the family.”

She passed on her humor and forgiveness to her son, who is now one of the world’s best-known comedians.

What Is Patricia Noah Upto Nowadays?

Patricia Noah currently lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, with her family. She also runs a real estate company in the same area.

As for her son’s success, Patricia says that she does not want to profit from her son’s success. She said: “I want Patricia to be the owner,

“He is running his business and I’m taking care of my business, I have my own money and business,”

In 2016, Trevor published an autobiographical book, Born a Criminal, in which he talks about his life and that of his family. The film adaptation is being produced by Paramount Players with Lupita Nyong’o in the role of Patricia Noah.

Quick Facts About Patricia Noah 

Full NamePatricia Noah
First NamePatricia
Last NameNoah
ProfessionCelebrity Parent
NationalitySouth African
Birth CountrySouth Africa
Gender IdentityFemale
Sexual OrientationStraight
Marital StatusMarried
SpouseSfiso Khoza
No Of Children3
Married DateJuly 2009