Stephen Tyrone Colbert (born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, satirist, actor and writer, known for his ironic style (particularly in his portrayal of uninformed opinion leaders), and for his deadpan comedic delivery.

Colbert originally studied to be an actor, but became interested in improvisational theatre when he met famed Second City director Del Close while attending Northwestern University. He first performed professionally as an understudy for Steve Carell at Second City Chicago; among his troupe mates were comedians Paul Dinello and Amy Sedaris, with whom he developed the critically-acclaimed sketch comedy series "Exit 57".

Colbert also wrote and performed on the short-lived "Dana Carvey Show" before collaborating with Sedaris and Dinello again on the cult television series Strangers with Candy. He gained considerable attention for his role on the latter as closeted, gay history teacher Chuck Noblet. It was his work as a correspondent on Comedy Central's news-parody series The Daily Show, however, that first introduced him to a wide audience.

In 2005, he left The Daily Show to host a spin-off series, The Colbert Report. Following The Daily Show's news-parody concept, The Colbert Report is a parody of personality-driven political opinion shows such as "The O'Reilly Factor". Since its debut, the series has been successful, establishing itself as one of Comedy Central's highest-rated series, earning Colbert three Emmy nominations and an invitation to perform as featured entertainer at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in 2006. Colbert was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in 2006. His book, I Am America (And So Can You!) was No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller List.

Although by his own account he was not particularly political before joining the cast of The Daily Show, Colbert is a self-described Democrat. He is also a practicing Roman Catholic, as well as a Sunday school teacher. Colbert lives in Montclair, New Jersey, with his wife Evelyn McGee-Colbert. The couple have three children: Madeline, Peter, and John, all of whom have appeared on The Daily Show. Colbert prefers that his children not watch his show, saying, "Kids can't understand irony or sarcasm, and I don't want them to perceive me as insincere."

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