Trevor Noah's father, characterized in 'Born a Crime', was a supportive and loving Swiss-German who had to keep his relationship with his mixed-race son secret due to apartheid laws. Their covert relationship was marked by moments of closeness in otherwise restrictive circumstances, influencing Trevor's life and humor.
Trevor Noah's father can be characterized as somewhat enigmatic, largely due to the apartheid-era social constructs and laws in South Africa that shaped his relationship with his son. In Trevor's autobiographical book Born a Crime, he describes his father as a Swiss-German who had a significant impact on his early life, but due to legal restrictions, their relationship had to be kept secret. His father, Robert Noah, is portrayed as being both supportive and loving, although the racist governmental policies of the time forced their relationship to be distant and covert. Despite the barriers, Robert took an active role in Trevor's life whenever possible, including taking him to parks in predominantly white areas where they could pretend to be strangers. The paternal influence is evident in Trevor's character development and his approach to life and humor.