Patricia Noah – Inside The Life Of Trevor Noah’s Mother

Patricia Noah is a South African lady who was brought into the limelight due to the fact that she is Trevor Noah’s mother. Trevor is a stand-up comedian, writer and television host famous for hosting The Daily Show, an American late-night talk show and satirical news program. He left the show in 2022.

Early Life

Patricia was born to Temperance and Nomalizo Frances Noah. When she was nine she went to live with her father, but he later sent her to live with his sister in Transkei, their Xhosa homeland, together with her cousins.

In terms of schooling, Patricia went to a mission school and years later after growing up she went on to work in a factory where she was paid a meal a day. However, when her aunt fell sick she went back home and enrolled in a secretarial school there.

Relocation & Life In Johannesburg

During the apartheid time, black people lacked proper jobs and most men had to resort to manual labor while women generally worked as maids or in factories. Patricia went against the norm to get a secretarial job at a large pharmaceutical company in the white area of Johannesburg.

At that point in time, it was unlawful for blacks to live in Johannesburg. However, Patricia found a way to live there without getting caught. Initially, she slept in public restrooms but later got help from some Xhosa ladies who took her to some white men who offered apartments for rent to blacks. They also advised her to dress up as a maid so that she could easily move around without getting questioned. However, due to the lack of a document that validated maid’s labor status thus giving them the right to move around the city. This led to multiple arrests and fines.

Meeting Trevor’s Dad

Patricia lived in Hillbrow where she met Robert Lyod, a Swiss German. The two had a casual friendly relationship without any romantic feelings. At one point, Patricia decided that she wanted to have a child so she requested Robert to have one with him without any form of marriage involved. She also added that she would not demand anything from him in regard to raising the child. He would only be in the child’s life if he wanted.

At the time in South Africa, it was illegal for black and whites to be in a relationship hence having an interracial child was a crime. Patricia still wanted a child with a white man despite the laws. Robert later agreed to have a child with her and together they got Trevor Noah on February 20th, 1984. During delivery, she told the doctors that the father of her child was from a different country hence was able to avoid prosecution.

Patricia relocated and rented a flat in Joubert Park after Trevor was born. Robert would meet up with him from time to time in public places. He moved to Cape Town when Trevor was 13 years old leading to them losing contact.

Life As A Mother and Marriage

When Trevor was a baby, Patricia would conceal him by swaddling him and when he got bigger she pretended to be a maid to Trevor’s alleged parents. A white lady in her building agreed to pretend to be his mother.

In 1992, Patricia met Abel Ngisaveni who was a mechanic at Mighty Mechanics garage, where she had taken her car to get fixed. Love blossomed between them and they got married. They were blessed with a child they named Andrew. The marriage didn’t last long since Andrew became a violent drunkard. This forced Patricia to move out to a rented apartment where she started her life once again. The divorce was finalized in 1996.

In 2009, Abel tried to murder Patricia when she was coming back from church. She survived the attack with both of the bullets passing through her body.