The Untold Truth Of Trevor Noah

As a child, Noah and his mother, Patricia, attended three church services every Sunday.

Patricia was incredibly religious and felt that each church "gave her something different," he explained in Born a Crime. According to Vulture's recap of the memoir, the two "started the day at a 'jubilant' mixed-race ... suburban megachurch," where Christian-rock abounded.

From there, they would hit "an 'analytical' white church," where the comedian also attended Sunday school, inspiring a life-long interest in Biblical stories. The pair's last stop was "a 'passionate, cathartic' black church, where the service would last for three to four hours."

But when Noah was around 10 years old, his mother converted to Judaism — which, he explained during an interview with NPR, caused much confusion. "I lived my life ... as a part-white, part-black but then sometimes-Jewish kid. And I didn't understand 'cause she didn't make me convert," he said. 

However, the 33-year-old is now thankful for said confusion. "I think that was the gift my mother gave me," he told NPR. "Whatever it was, my mom said, 'I'm going to seek out more,'" which meant "not staying in the space that you are was supposed to be in, whether it be racially, whether it be in a community, whether it be gender norms." 

That disorientation, he decided, "leads to a way more colorful life."

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