Profile of the Day: Stephen Colbert

Posted May 13, 2026 by Amanda | No Comment

Happy birthday to Stephen Colbert! Today the comedian and late-night host turns 62.

Image: David Shankbone, Flickr

Colbert was born on May 13, 1964 in Washington, D.C. to James William Colbert, Jr. and Lorna Elizabeth Tuck. The youngest of 11 children, Colbert grew up in Charleston, South Carolina in a devout Catholic household. He experienced tragedy early in life when at the age of 10, his father and two brothers died in a plane crash. Colbert found solace in reading science fiction and fantasy novels, especially the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.

After studying theater at Northwestern University, Colbert found work in Chicago at the offices of the Second City comedy troupe. He took improv classes there and was eventually hired to perform with Second City’s touring company. It was there that he met comedians Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello; the trio would later become frequent collaborators.

Colbert first rose to fame as a correspondent on the Comedy Central parody-news series, The Daily Show. The success of the show eventually led to Colbert hosting his own spin-off, The Colbert Report, which ran for 9 seasons. In 2014, Colbert was chosen to succeed David Letterman as the host of The Late Show after Letterman’s retirement from broadcast television. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has remained the highest-rated American late-night talk show for nine consecutive seasons. It was a recipient for the Peabody Award and most recently won an Emmy for Outstanding Variety Talk Series at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2025, CBS announced the cancelation of The Late Show. The long-running series will air its final episode on May 21.

Explore Stephen Colbert’s family tree on Geni and share how you’re connected to the comedian.