| Stephen Colbert | |
|---|---|
 Colbert in 2024 | |
| Birth name | Stephen Tyrone Colbert |
| Born | May 13, 1964 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Medium |
|
| Education | Northwestern University (BA) |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Genres | |
| Subject(s) | |
| Spouse |
Evelyn McGee (m. 1993) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) |
|
| Relative(s) |
|
| Signature |  |
Preview warning: Page using Template:Listen with empty filename #1 | |
Stephen Tyrone Colbert[1] (/koʊlˈbɛər/ kohl-BAIR;[2] born May 13, 1964)[3] is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, singer, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program The Colbert Report from 2005 to 2014 and the CBS talk program The Late Show with Stephen Colbert since September 2015.[4][5][6]
Colbert originally studied to be a dramatic actor, but became interested in improvisational theater while attending Northwestern University, where he met Second City director Del Close. Colbert first performed professionally as an understudy for Steve Carell at Second City Chicago, where his troupemates included Paul Dinello and Amy Sedaris, comedians with whom he developed the sketch comedy series Exit 57. He wrote and performed on The Dana Carvey Show (1996) before collaborating with Sedaris and Dinello again on the sitcom Strangers with Candy (1999–2000).
Colbert's work as a correspondent on Comedy Central's news-parody series The Daily Show gained him wide recognition. In 2005, he left The Daily Show to host The Colbert Report. Following The Daily Show's news-parody concept, The Colbert Report was a parody of personality-driven political opinion shows including The O'Reilly Factor, in which he portrayed a caricatured version of conservative political pundits, earning Colbert an invitation to perform as featured entertainer at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in 2006, which he did in character. This event led to the series becoming one of Comedy Central's highest-rated series. After ending The Colbert Report, he was hired in 2015 to succeed retiring David Letterman as host of the Late Show on CBS. He hosted the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards in September 2017.
Colbert has won nine Primetime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and three Peabody Awards. Colbert was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People in 2006 and 2012.[7][8] His book I Am America (And So Can You!) was listed No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list in 2007.
- ^ Daly, Steven (May 18, 2008). "Stephen Colbert: The Second Most Powerful Idiot in America". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on March 12, 2009. Retrieved September 15, 2009.
- ^ Dowd, Maureen (November 16, 2006). "Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert: America's Anchors". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 9, 2006. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
- ^ "Monitor". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1207. May 18, 2012. p. 29.
- ^ "'Hello Nation!' Stephen Colbert Debuts On New 'The Late Show'". WCBS-TV. September 9, 2015. Archived from the original on November 12, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
- ^ "Stephen Colbert Leaving Character Behind To Take Over David Letterman's Late-Night Spot". Forbes. April 10, 2014. Archived from the original on April 10, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
- ^ Steinberg, Brian (June 30, 2015). "Upfront 2015: Advertisers Rush To Latenight To Catch Colbert, Fallon, Kimmel". Variety. Archived from the original on July 26, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
- ^ Williams, Brian (May 8, 2006). "Stephen Colbert – The 2006 TIME 100". Time. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
- ^ Trudeau, Garry (April 16, 2012). "Stephen Colbert – 2012 TIME 100: The Most Influential People in the World". Time. Archived from the original on July 25, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2012.