John Oliver | |
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Oliver in November 2016
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Birth name | John William Oliver |
Born |
Erdington, West Midlands, England |
23 April 1977
Medium |
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Alma mater | Christ's College, Cambridge |
Years active | 1998–present |
Genres | |
Subject(s) |
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Spouse | Kate Norley (m. 2011) |
Children | 1 |
Website | www |
John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is an English comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, media critic, and television host. He is the host of HBO's Peabody Award-winning late-night talk show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and is the recipient of five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Writers Guild Awards.
Oliver became widely known in the United States for his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, where he became the third person to host the show. He co-hosted the satirical comedy podcast The Bugle and hosted John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show on Comedy Central. Oliver has worked extensively with Andy Zaltzman; their body of work includes hundreds of hours of satirical podcasts and radio broadcasts, including series such as Political Animal and The Department.
Oliver was born in Erdington, West Midlands, and educated in Bedford at the Mark Rutherford School. He is the son of Carole, a music teacher, and Jim Oliver, a school headmaster and social worker, both originally from Liverpool, Merseyside. He has been a fan of Liverpool FC since childhood, stating that "my mum's family are from Knotty Ash and my dad's family are from the Wirral, so supporting Liverpool was very much not a choice". His uncle was composer Stephen Oliver, and his paternal great-great-grandfather was William Boyd Carpenter, Bishop of Ripon and court chaplain to Queen Victoria.