Stephen Colbert, 61, has had quite a year. In July, the host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert announced that after 10 years on air, the show would come to an end in May 2026. "It's not just the end of our show, but it's the end of The Late Show on CBS…I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away," he told the audience. Stephen quickly got back to work with his small role in CBS's comedy-drama Elsbeth.
While some stars may feel lost without the daily grind of work, Stephen has a large family to fall back on. The comedian is the youngest of 11 siblings, James, Edward, Mary, William, Margaret, Thomas, John, Elizabeth, Paul, and Peter. His parents, James and Lorna, raised the family in a suburb of Charleston, South Carolina.
Stephen's family is touched by tragedy
© OWNAfter his mom passed away at the age of 92 on June 12, 2013, Stephen gave the eulogy at her funeral. "She made a very loving home for us," he said. "No fight between siblings could end without hugs and kisses, although hugs never needed a reason in her house. Singing and dancing was encouraged except at the dinner table."
Stephen's mom lived a long life, his dad, along with two of his brothers – Paul and Peter – tragically died in a plane crash in 1974. Stephen was just 10 at the time. While his grief was inescapable, he eventually found joy in making his classmates laugh.
"Nothing made any sense after my father and my brothers died. I kind of just shut off," he told The Post and Courier. Sometime later, Stephen turned to comedy as an escape. "That's when people said, 'Oh, Colbert's funny,'" he recalled. "Then a year later, I was voted wittiest at my high school. And that's when I thought maybe I should be a comedian."
© OWNA family grounded in faith
Stephen and his siblings were raised Catholic. He's been frank about the encouragement from his parents to not only have a practice of faith but to critically think about that faith as well. In 2005, Stephen told Time Out New York: "I love my Church, and I'm a Catholic who was raised by intellectuals, who were very devout. I was raised to believe that you could question the Church and still be a Catholic."
The comedian brings his faith to his work often. In a 2022 interview with Dua Lipa, the two spoke about how faith and comedy are intertwined.
© CBS via Getty Images"Ultimately, us all being mortal, the faith will win out," Stephen explained. "[Catholicism] is always connected to the idea of love and sacrifice being somehow related, and giving yourself to other people, and that death is not defeat."
Stephen's sister Elizabeth ran for office
In 2013, Stephen's sister Elizabeth ran for congress in South Carolina's 1st Congressional District. While she won the primary with 95 percent of the vote, she lost the overall race to Republican Mark Sanford.
© Getty ImagesAt the time, Stephen said: "As a broadcast journalist, I am obligated to maintain broad objectivity. It doesn't matter that my sister is intelligent, hardworking, compassionate, and dedicated to the people of South Carolina."
