Robert Noah is the father of Trevor Noah. He is a Swiss-German businessman and restaurateur who relocated to South Africa in 1980 to float an eatery in Johannesburg.
Robert is also an activist who strongly opposed the apartheid regime in South Africa as he couldn’t fathom how the Blacks can be so maltreated by the Whites in their native country. Having Trevor Noah with his baby mama, Patricia Nombuyiselo, posed a lot of threat to Robert’s life in South Africa as the apartheid racial laws frowned against it. However, he managed to survive the ordeal and now enjoys a close relationship with his son in post-apartheid South Africa.
Summary of Robert Noah’s Biography
- Full Name: Robert Noah
- Gender: Male
- Ethnicity: White
- Nationality: Swiss
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Christianity
- Marital Status: Single
- Robert Noah’s Children: Trevor Noah
- Famous For: Bbeing the father of Trevor Noah
Who is Robert Noah?
Robert Noah is not the type that courts public attention, thus, very little is known about his birth details and early life. However, we know that his real name is Robert Llyod and he is a Switzerland native and has Swiss-German heritage.
Nothing is known about Robert’s date of birth, though he is speculated to be born sometime in the early part of the1930s. He traveled to South Africa during the 1980s when apartheid was still in full swing.
Arriving in South Africa, Robert met the worst of the apartheid regime which turned him into an activist. He didn’t understand the then-political situation in the country and was totally averse to it. He was too compassionate towards the black citizens of South Africa and questioned why they should be oppressed in their own home country.
The Swiss-German was popular among the Blacks and offered them a lot of help during the notorious apartheid regime.
What is Robert’s Means of Livelihood?
Robert Noah is listed as a professional chef who has worked in several countries, including Canada, the United States (New York to be precise), and South Africa.
When he landed on South African soil in 1980, he was in search of new opportunities to establish and run his restaurant. After he put down roots in Johannesburg, he opened a restaurant via a special license that enabled him to employ Blacks to work in his kitchen.
Robert’s restaurant became one of the initial integrated eateries in Joburg during the apartheid regime. The special license he obtained before opening the restaurant allowed both Whites and Blacks to mingle and it gave the majority of the Black population a sense of belonging.
Robert Was Forced To Close His Restaurant
While there were Whites who didn’t mind integrating with the Blacks at Robert Noah’s restaurant, many others frowned at it and started plotting to bring his business down by writing petition after petition. The major reasons contained in those petitions were environmental violations and unhealthy practices.
This harsh judgment stemmed from the fact that Whites had always looked down on people of color and believed they should only ever be used in menial jobs and nothing more. Robert legally obtained special license notwithstanding, but the numerous petitions caught the attention of the authorities who sent inspectors into the restaurant to get hold of tangible reasons to finally shut it down.
At the end of the day, the inspectors’ report only cited health violations; something Robert wasn’t guilty of in the first place. They also insisted that the restaurateur creates separate restrooms for Blacks and Whites and since Robert Noah didn’t want to adhere to their conditions, he just decided to close the eatery down.
How Trevor Noah’s Father Met His Wife
During the 1980s when racial segregation was at its peak in South Africa, there were regions where Blacks were not allowed to live. However, Patricia Nombuyiselo
was a fairly educated Black lady from the Xhosa tribe and that was how she was able to hold down a white-collar job; this made her capable of affording her own apartment in Hillbrow Johannesburg.
Hillbrow was then described as a culturally active community relatively liberal compared to other White dominated areas. The place was home to White people who frowned at apartheid and its ravaging effects on the lives of South African indigenes and needless to say, one of such Whites was Robert Noah.
Patricia’s apartment happened to be located on the same floor where Robert Noah live and that was how he met the woman who would become his baby mama and Trevor Noah’s mum.
With all that said, we must also acknowledge the constant threat the police presented to Blacks who dared venture into the neighborhood. Most of the White residents were encouraged to function as spies on their closest neighbors and any form of hobnobbing with a Black was promptly reported. In this kind of situation, the parties involved would get their deserved punishment which was always harsher on the side of the Blacks.
Robert Noah and Patricia Nombuyiselo Never got Married
It was not possible for Robert and Patricia to get married during the peak of apartheid in South Africa as one of the most stringent policies of the apartheid regime in South Africa centered on the non-integration of the races. With that said, we already know that Robert and Patricia’s paths were never supposed to cross, as Robert was White while Patricia was Black.
However, Patricia, who was then 24 struck, up a friendship with Robert who already hit 46, almost twice her age. Residing on the same floor made it easy and convenient for them to constantly spend time in each other’s company without anyone spying on them. Otherwise, Patricia would have ended up in jail for daring to befriend a White man.
As time rolled by, Patricia concluded that Robert Noah was a reserved man and took the decision of propositioning him. The interracial duo was together one night when Pat asked him to have a baby with her. Initially, the Swiss restaurateur said he didn’t want to father a child. Robert also considered the illegality of the situation which would make him not have access to the child when it will be born.
However, despite the negative response she got from Robert, Patricia continued asking and kept getting negative answers until Robert finally said yes to her request.
When she eventually had her son on the 20th of February 1984, she made an effort to cover up for Noah’s fair complexion by claiming that his father hailed from another country. Lying about Trevor’s biological father at the hospital saved Patricia from the ordeal of going to jail for five years, as that was the penalty for daring to have a biracial child. While the mother of such a child is serving her jail term, the baby will be taken to an orphanage.
Robert Noah and Patricia did a Good Job of Concealing Their ‘Crime’
As Patricia’s due date drew closer, she thought about protecting her baby daddy from the consequences of having a biracial child. She finally took the expedient decision of relocating to another apartment close to where Robert was staying.
Pat believed that the move would keep her son safe from being taken to an orphanage and also relieve Robert of the fear of being discovered to have a child from mixed racial background.
her plan afforded Trevor the opportunity to grow up in peace and he is now a comedian and hosts several successful shows all over the globe. He has since written his memoir entitled, Born a Crime which chronicled his childhood and his journey with his dad.
Was Robert Noah Part of Trevor Noah’s Life?
Though Robert was initially happy with shielding himself from parenthood, he later had a change of heart. He came to the realization that he couldn’t bring a child into the world and not get involved in its upbringing.
With this decision, Robert started searching for Patricia and his son, and together, the duo devised workable ways of co-parenting in spite of the threat posed by the apartheid regime in South Africa.
The couple’s first plan was to meet up at the park during the latter part of the day when no one would be present to spy on them. Patricia would bring Trevor along and Robert would see him from a safe distance. At a point, Pat started acting as Robert’s maid as a cover-up so that he can see his son without so much suspicion.
For a while, it seemed like the plan was working as the couple continued to have great moments with their son. However, Trevor who was growing up very fast came to recognize Robert Noah as his dad, and the next time they scheduled to meet at the park, the toddler automatically ran to his father yelling “Daddy! Daddy!” Needless to say, this attracted the attention of many other people in the park and not knowing how to handle it, Robert broke out in a run and Trevor followed behind thinking it was a father/son game.
When the option of meeting up at the park was completely ruled out, Robert had no other choice than to relocate to Yeoville which was considered to be a newly segregated area. With this arrangement, he was able to see his son from time to time and even take him home for weekends, his birthday, Christmas, and more. The park at Yeoville was not strict about racial laws, thus, Robert was free to take Trevor there where he played with other children from different racial backgrounds.
When apartheid eventually ended, all racial barriers were lifted and Robert was free to spend quality time with his son without entertaining fear.
There was a Time Robert Lost Touch With His Son
Father and son went on to enjoy a solid relationship until Trevor clocked 13. The reason behind their separation was that Patricia got married to a man called Ngisaveni Abel Shingange.
We were told that Abel was a violent man and was averse to Patricia taking Trevor to go and visit her ex-boyfriend all the time. Abel’s decision was what led to the reduction of time Robert got to spend with Trevor and it continued to dwindle out until it finally came to a halt. At this point, Robert decided to get out of the whole situation by relocating to Cape Town and that was when he finally lost contact with Trevor.
After giving Abel two sons, Patricia couldn’t take it anymore and went on to divorce him in 1996. With that, Trevor eventually completed his growing-up years under the watch of his mother and grandmother. Note: Patricia later married a second husband named Sfiso Khoza.
Robert’s Return to His Son’s Life
As he grew older, Trevor labeled Robert an absentee father and hated him for not caring about his wellbeing. However, the interjections of kind words about his dad from Patricia always calmed his emotions.
Pat spent time encouraging Trevor to try and locate his dad’s whereabouts to no avail. However, when Trevor clocked 24, he agreed to trace his dad. When all his contact failed, Trevor went through the embassy and was finally able to locate Robert Noah in Cape Town.
At the initial stage, things were awkward for father and son who hadn’t seen each other for more than ten years. Though he has been following Trevor’s progress and had clips and scrapbooks of all the publications about his career progress, Robert didn’t know how to break the ten-year barrier that was existed between them.
When Trevor came with a barrage of questions about his reasons for abandoning him, Robert Noah had a tough time answering all his inquiries. Robert made Trevor understand that he needed to move out of his life for his (Trevor’s) safety and from their conversation, The Swiss-German heard that his son was about to forget he ever had a father but for Patricia’s intervention.
At the end of the visit, father and son made good progress in closing the gap between them and Robert cooked Noah his favorite food, the ‘Rosti.’
Since then, father and son have been on good terms. Trevor visited his dad’s home country, Switzerland, in 2022 which was his first time. The comedian even held successful shows in Zurich and Geneva before going home to South Africa.
Is Robert Noah Married?
To the best of our knowledge, Robert Noah never got married in his life and from what is perceivable, he never bothered to sire another child after Noah. Many speculated that Trevor met his father in Cape Town as a single man and there seemed to be no woman in his life.
Where is Robert Noah now?
Robert Noah has always shunned the limelight, thus, tracing his current whereabouts may prove difficult. Besides, he doesn’t have any presence on social media and this makes things even more difficult. However, considering the fact that Trevor met up with him in Cape Town, many have concluded that he may still be there.
However, there was a time that he lived in New York before going to Cape Town to meet up with his son. It was said that his business takes him to different parts of the world, including Canada, Western Europe, New York, and South Africa, among other places.
