7 Filmography 8 Bibliography 9 Discography 10 References 11 Further reading 12 External links

o host a spin-off series, The Colbert Report. Following The Daily Show's news-parody concept, The Colbert Report is a parody of personality-driven political opinion shows such as The O'Reilly Factor. Since its debut, the series has established itself as one of Comedy Central's highest-rated series, earning Colbert three Emmy Award nominations and an invitation to perform as featured entertainer at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in 2006. Colbert was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in 2006 and 2012.[11][12] His book I Am America (And So Can You!) was No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list.
Contents  [hide]
1 Early life
2 Early career in comedy
3 Television career
3.1 Strangers with Candy
3.2 The Daily Show
3.3 The Colbert Report
4 Politics
4.1 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner
4.2 2008 Presidential bid
4.3 2009 Show of solidarity with U.S. troops in Iraq War
4.4 2010 Congressional testimony
4.5 2010 Washington D.C. rallies
4.6 Super PAC and 2012 Presidential campaign
4.7 Other work
5 Personal life
6 Awards and honors
6.1 COLBERT Treadmill
7 Filmography
8 Bibliography
9 Discography
10 References
11 Further reading
12 External links
Early life

Colbert was born in Washington, D.C.,[13] and grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, on James Island, the youngest of 11 children in a Catholic family.[6][14][15] Colbert and his siblings, in order from oldest to youngest, are James ("Jimmy"), Edward ("Eddie"), Mary, William ("Billy"), Margo, Thomas ("Tommy"), Jay, Elizabeth ("Lulu"), Paul, Peter, and Stephen.
Many of his ancestors emigrated from Ireland to North America in the 19th century before and during the Great Famine.[16][17]
His father, James William Colbert, Jr., was a doctor and medical school dean at Yale University, Washington University, and finally at the Medical University of South Carolina where he served as vice president for academic affairs. Stephen's mother, Lorna Colbert (née Tuck), was a homemaker.[16][18] In interviews, Colbert describes his parents as devout people who also strongly value intellectualism and taught their children that it was possible to question the Church and still be Catholic.[19] The emphasis his family placed on intelligence and his observation of negative stereotypes of Southerners led Colbert to train himself to suppress his Southern accent while he was still quite young. As a child, he observed that Southerners were often depicted as being less intelligent than other characters on scripted television; to avoid that stereotype, he taught himself to imitate the speech of American news anchors.[20][21]
Colbert sometimes comedically claims his surname is French, but his family is of Irish, English, and distant German descent.[6][22] Originally, the name was pronounced /ˈkoʊlbərt/ in English; Stephen Colbert's father, James, wanted to pronounce the name /koʊlˈbɛər/, but maintained the /ˈkoʊlbərt/ pronunciation out of respect for his own father. He offered his children the option to pronounce the name whichever way they preferred.[14] Stephen started using /