John Oliver

John Oliver (born April 23, 1977, Erdington, England) is an English-American comedian, writer, and television host who has written and performed for various programs over a two-decade career but is perhaps best known as the host of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014– ). The weekly half-hour television show takes a satirical look at the past week’s events and often goes into deep dives on niche concerns.

Early life and education

Oliver was born in Erdington, a suburb outside Birmingham, England, as the eldest of four children of Jim Oliver, a school headmaster, and Carole Oliver, a music teacher. While studying English at Christ’s College, University of Cambridge, John Oliver was a member of the Cambridge Footlights, an amateur theatrical club, with whom he starred in the 1998 student revue Between a Rock and a Hard Place.

Edinburgh Fringe and other early projects

After graduating from Cambridge in 1998, Oliver appeared in The Comedy Zone, a late-night showcase of rising comedic stars at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2001. The next year he debuted his solo act at the festival and returned in 2003. In 2004 and 2005 he had a double act with fellow English comic Andy Zaltzman. The duo also hosted the radio show Political Animal, which soon aired on BBC Radio 4. Between 2004 and 2006 he was a writer and star of Radio 4’s The Department alongside Zaltzman and English comedian Chris Addison, and in 2007 he and Zaltzman created The Bugle podcast. While on each of these shows, Oliver honed his skills as a penetrating political satirist.

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The Daily Show

Fellow English comedian Ricky Gervais was a fan of Oliver and recommended him to Jon Stewart, the host of The Daily Show, an American satirical television news program. Oliver moved to the United States and joined the program in 2006, serving as its “Senior British Correspondent.” During the seven years he was on the series, Oliver offered a British perspective on American current events, such as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. His work was recognized with three Emmy Awards. In 2013 Oliver hosted The Daily Show while Stewart directed the film Rosewater (2014). Oliver told The New York Times in 2013, “I’ll do anything for [Stewart], whether it’s hosting this show or disposing of a body. I guess I was just happy it was the first of those two choices, and I wasn’t taking a trip to the East River under the cover of darkness.” His stint received positive reviews, and he was subsequently offered his own show.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

The HBO series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver premiered in 2014. Covering politics and current events with a comedic voice, the weekly program became known for its deep dives into what Oliver described on NPR’s Fresh Air in 2018 as news that “no one in their right mind wants to hear about.” Segments have explored such issues as gerrymandering, prison health care, and the Scottish independence referendum. The show even created a faux televangelist church in order to reveal how simple it is to create a tax-exempt religious organization in the United States and legally solicit donations. It was also committed to long-running bits, one of which began with the purchase of cooking equipment from a recently shuttered Red Lobster restaurant in Kingston, New York, in one episode and ended a couple of episodes later with the nearby Deising’s Bakery and Restaurant selling bear-shaped cakes featuring a photo of Oliver’s face. Oliver has won an impressive 23 Emmy Awards for his work on the show. The series also received Peabody Awards in 2014 and 2017.

Other projects

After relocating to New York City in 2006 to appear on The Daily Show, Oliver continued to tour as a stand-up comedian, and in 2008 he released the comedy special John Oliver: Terrifying Times. He also hosted and produced John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show (2010–13), a showcase of his favorite comedians on Comedy Central. In addition, Oliver took on a number of acting roles, including a greedy talent agent in the widely panned Mike Myers vehicle The Love Guru (2008) and recurring character Dr. Ian Duncan (2009–14) in the television series Community. He lent his voice to the animated movies The Smurfs (2011) and The Smurfs 2 (2013), as well as to Disney’s 2019 remake of The Lion King. During the 2023 Writers’ Guild of America strike, Oliver teamed up with fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyersto create the podcast Strike Force Five, in order to support their out-of-work staff and striking writers. The series had a 12-episode run.

Personal life

Oliver met his wife, Kate Norley, a veteran U.S. Army combat medic and advocate for Vets for Freedom, while covering the 2008 Republican National Convention for The Daily Show. They married in 2011 and welcomed a son in 2015 and another in 2018. Oliver obtained American citizenship in 2019.

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