John Oliver Wiki, Family, Wife, Son, Height, Net Worth

Quick Facts

John Oliver is an American-English comedian, television host, political commentator, writer, producer and actor. He served as a sidekick on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show working as its senior British correspondent between 2006 and 2013.

Oliver was thrown into the spotlight in the summer of 2013 when Stewart took some time off the Comedy Central satire program to make his directorial debut. Oliver swiftly rose to the occasion and did a brilliant job in the big chair. His brief stint as an anchor was well-received and fans of the show simply assumed he’d take over when Stewart retires.

But before that succession could happen, Oliver got snapped up by HBO to host his own show Last Week Tonight which premiered in 2014. The satirical news show which has 4 Primetime Emmy Awards to show for 4 highly successful seasons has been renewed to run until 2020.

The popular weekly series presents a satirical look at the news, politics and current happenings, as well as addressing other serious matters in a lighthearted and humorous manner. The commercial-free program leave viewers entertained and equally educated.

In February 2016 John Oliver did a 21-minute segment on Republican candidate Donald Trump and it received over 85 million views on Facebook and YouTube within a month!

John Oliver Biography

John William Oliver was born on April 23, 1977, in Birmingham, England. His father Jim Oliver worked as a school headmaster and social worker. His mother Carole was a music teacher. His parents were both originally from Liverpool.

Oliver was educated at the Mark Rutherford School, Bedford. Following secondary school, he studied at Christ’s College, Cambridge where he obtained a degree in English. While in college, he served as Vice-President of the Cambridge Footlights, an amateur theatrical club run by students of Cambridge University.

Oliver started out as a standup comedian making the rounds in pubs and laugh shacks in his native England. He’d travel long distances to perform gigs where he didn’t even get paid. However, he has described those early rough days as some of his happiest moments as all he wanted was to make people laugh.

Later, John Oliver established a collaboration with fellow British comedian Andy Zaltzman. As a duo, they performed at stand-up comedy shows and also hosted two radio programs on BBC Radio 4.

The British-born comedian and political commentator moved to the US after landing a job on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show. According to him, he was interviewed for the show based on the recommendation of another comedian Ricky Gervais, who had never met Oliver but had come across his works.

Oliver’s initial immigrant status placed some restrictions on what he was allowed to do in his adoptive country – America. He seldom pokes fun at some of the absurdities involved in the process of obtaining US residency.

One of such ridiculous conditions had Oliver on the picket lines during the Writers’ Guild strike bringing his The Daily Show to a halt. According to him, being on a Visitor’s visa at the time, striking while the show was in production would have put him at risk of being deported. However, the political commentator got approved for his green card in October 2009.

Oliver John made his movie debut playing Dick Pants in the 2008 film The Love Guru. In 2016, Oliver was announced as the voice of Zazu in the remake of Disney’s The Lion King.

Salary and Net Worth

The British comedian, TV host, screenwriter and actor has a net worth of $5 million. For one who started out performing gigs without getting paid, John Oliver has really done well for himself. He currently earns an annual salary of $2 million.

John Oliver’s Family – Wife and Son

John Oliver has English and Irish ancestry. On his father’s side, he is the grandson of Osborne George Oliver, an electricity board official, and Charlotte Hester Girdlestone, a religious education adviser. His uncle was the late English composer Stephen Oliver, best known for his operas.

On his mother’s side, John is the great-great-grandson of The Rev. William Boyd Carpenter, who was the Bishop of Ripon and a court chaplain to Queen Victoria. He was from a prominent family that produced many clergies of the Church of England.

Oliver is currently married to Kate Norley a US Army veteran who served as a medic during the war in Iraq. Kate currently works as a veteran rights advocate for “Vets for Freedom.”

The couple met at the 2008 Republican Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Kate was campaigning with Vets For Freedom while Oliver was recording a piece for The Daily Show. Kate and her fellow veterans helped hide Oliver and his crew from security after he snuck up to a restricted area.

John and Kate exchanged emails soon after their hide-and-seek encounter and there’s been no stopping them ever since. The couple dated for 2 years before getting married in 2011.

The former host of The Daily Show and wife Kate Norley welcomed a son in 2015, he was named Hudson. Though born prematurely after a very difficult pregnancy, the boy has grown into a healthy child.

Height

The multitalented British comic is 6ft in height. He weighs 170 lbs. Oliver has brown eyes and dark brown hair.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.