Here’s how life was for different for Noah growing up …
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His mum had to pretend to be a stranger
Noah’s mum is black and his dad white. Since the prohibition of mixed marriages act of 1949 banned unions between “Europeans” and “non-Europeans”, the relationship between Noah’s parents was illegal. And because Noah had a light complexion, his mum, Patricia Nombuyiselo Noah, had to pretend to be a stranger when she and her son were out in public so that she wouldn’t get into trouble with the apartheid-era police.
He was locked inside
It was also because of these laws that Noah was kept indoors and hidden from sight throughout much of his childhood. He recalls living in the black Soweto township with his grandmother and his neighbours being encouraged to inform the police of any lawbreakers.
“I couldn’t play outside with other children,” he recently told Times Live. “I had restrictions on my movements, and I wasn’t necessarily told why. They just said, ‘You can’t go outside’. That’s just how I lived and I accepted it.”
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Neighbourhood kids were afraid of him
In an interview with The Daily Show, Noah’s grandmother recalled three-year-old Noah wanting to play with neighbourhood children … but because of laws segregating blacks and whites, it was the first time they saw a lighter-skinned person in the area, and they were so scared that they ran away from him.
Apartheid defined him
Whenever he reflects on his childhood in interviews with the media, it’s clear that he feels defined by apartheid because of his mixed race. Everything he did – from growing up hidden away to having secret visits with his Swiss father – was dictated by laws related to apartheid.
He has also spoken about the importance of Americans learning about South African history, telling NPR and WBUR Boston’s radio show, Here & Now, “If you read stories from South Africa, if you read about apartheid, you come to realise that racism or oppression aren’t unique ideas to America.”
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He had terrible acne
Although his grandmother described him as being a handsome baby in that same The Daily Show interview, Noah suffered from severe acne as a teenager, resulting in major self-esteem issues.
“I shied away from any type of photograph … because I thought I was hideous,” he told NPR’s Fresh Air. “I was one of those kids who just stayed in a corner and watched the world pass them by.”
Earning a living
After apartheid ended, Noah had to hustle to make a living. He spent most of his time on the streets of Alexandra, a township in Johannesburg, making money selling counterfeit CDs and even trying his hand at DJing.
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