The Tragic Story Of Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert makes people laugh for a living — and he's very good at it. He served as a lifeline for many during Donald Trump's first administration, and has done the same as the controversial politician reclaimed the White House for a second term in 2025. Colbert's ability to make people laugh during dark times is, in part, thanks to his own brush with the unthinkable. His life was forever changed when he was just 10, and he's lived with the knowledge that everything can change in an instant ever since.

Colbert learned to channel his pain into power — comedic power, that is. His excellent comedic timing can, in part, be ascribed to his training in improv comedy, something he found an interest in during his university years. His savvy on stage would eventually land him a gig on "The Daily Show," and the rest is history. Colbert has become a household name and the person viewers can turn to when it feels like the world is on fire. While Colbert never denies that the flames are raging, he does provide some much-needed relief from the chaos for 40 minutes every weekday.

Thanks to his success, Colbert is among the many talk show hosts who live extremely lavish lives, but has used his platform to highlight injustice and call out politicians for their shortcomings. He's one of the celebrities who publicly slammed FBI Director Kash Patel, and Trump's inability to hide his fragile ego as he rails against late night TV is, in part, Colbert's doing. The comedian might be able to evoke laughter from his audience with ease, but he's had his fair share of pain and tragedy over the years. One could even argue that Colbert's own tragedies are the reason he can joke about almost anything.

The tragic event that changed Stephen Colbert's life forever occurred when he was only 10 years old. Colbert grew up in a big Catholic family — he had 10 siblings — but unfortunately, he didn't get to spend a lifetime with them. Two of Colbert's brothers who were closest to him in age, Peter and Paul, died tragically in 1974. They were on a flight to Charlotte, North Carolina, with their father, James William Colbert, Jr., on September 11 when their plane crashed about two miles from the runway after making a premature landing. The aircraft exploded, and only 10 people survived. Colbert's father and brothers were not among them.

What made matters worse was that the subsequent investigation revealed the crash had been due to the pilots not paying proper attention in the foggy weather. Surviving passengers would later recall that they saw treetops passing by the windows ahead of the crash, but the pilot seemingly had no idea that the plane was flying that low. No mayday call was made before the crash. The pilot's last words were, "Now, all we've got to do is find the airport" (via The Post and Courier).

Colbert has spoken about the devastating aftermath of the crash that left him without a father and two brothers. "I have fairly vivid memories from right after they died," Colbert told CNN's Anderson Cooper, who has experienced his own tragedies, during a sit-down on CNN (via YouTube). "I was personally shattered." He recalled how his mother got through her grief by taking care of him, and he did the same for her. "It became a very quiet house, very dark, and ordinary concerns of childhood suddenly kind of disappeared," Colbert said.

Having to contend with the loss of three family members at the age of 10 is unimaginable. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Stephen Colbert didn't fully deal with it at that young age. While attending prep school, the future comedian couldn't care less about performing academically. He wasn't a naughty or difficult kid, he simply exuded indifference, a coping mechanism to deal with the childhood trauma of losing three family members at once.

"There was no way to threaten me," Colbert told GQ in 2015. "It was like, 'What? What's that? Oh, okay, I might get a bad grade? Oh no. Wouldn't want that." Thanks to growing up in a Catholic household, Colbert didn't engage in any debauchery to numb his pain. Instead, he buried his nose in books, completely ignoring any academic responsibility. "I had so many books taken away from me," he recalled. "I read a book a day. Spent all of my allowance on books. Every birthday, confirmation, Christmas — books, please, stacks of books."

It was when he went to college that his past really came back to haunt him. "I didn't really feel the loss until I was in college," Colbert disclosed during an episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in 2012. "Then, I was in bad shape ... I was just so sad about it." He found solace in theater and performing and learned that it was a healthy way in which he could channel his pain into something useful.

Stephen Colbert credits his faith for being able to live with the devastating loss of his father and brothers. Speaking to GQ in 2015, he said his mother set the example of how to pick up the pieces and move forward amid crippling loss. "By her example am I not bitter. By her example. She was not. Broken, yes. Bitter, no," Colbert said, explaining that she held onto her faith to get through that devastating time.

But as he got older and started to question what happened and why, Colbert experienced a crisis of faith. Speaking to Faith In Focus in 2018, Colbert recalled realizing that he'd become an atheist when he was 22. "I had lost my faith in God, and to my own great grief that I was sort of convinced that I had been wrong all this time, that I'd been taught something that wasn't true," he admitted. It was when a random stranger on the street handed him a small Bible on a day he was feeling particularly anxious that Colbert found his way back to God. Inside the pages, he found a passage that spoke to him in that hour of need. "I was absolutely immediately lightened," the comedian said.

During his interview with GQ, Colbert said that one thing he learned from the loss of his father and brothers is acceptance. "Acceptance is not defeat. Acceptance is just awareness," he explained.

There are plenty of celebrities who suffer from anxiety, and Stephen Colbert hasn't been shy to admit that he's one of them. During a candid 2018 interview with Rolling Stone, the comedian disclosed that there was a time in his life where his anxiety was so bad that he could barely function. It started shortly after Colbert married his wife, Evelyn McGee. The anxiety had nothing to do with his marriage and everything to do with his work.

"I had a bit of a nervous breakdown after I got married — kind of panic attacks," he shared. "My wife would go off to work and she'd come home — because I worked at night — and I'd be walking around the couch. And she's like, 'How was your day?' And I'd say, 'You're looking at it.' Just tight circles around the couch." Colbert said anxiety was something he became familiar with at a young age because of the career choices he'd made, and he used medication to cope with the reality, as he put it, "that I had thrown my life away by attempting to do something that so few people actually get away with, or succeed at." Things got worse when Colbert was doing a theater production for a full year. He'd created it with friends, who ended up moving away. The repetitiveness eventually got to him. "I was in such a weird panic that I would never create anything new again," he explained. At one point, he even considered overindulging in alcohol, but he knew it would only make his problems worse.

Things got better when he started working on new projects, with the comedian realizing he loved being in front of the cameras and that performing is vital to his wellbeing.

In February 2012, Stephen Colbert had fans worried when he took a sudden hiatus from his show, "The Colbert Report." It didn't help that there wasn't any real explanation for the comedian's sudden leave of absence. The network simply released a statement that read, "Due to unforeseen circumstances, the show will air repeat episodes" (via People). It turned out that Colbert had taken time off work to be with his mother, Lorna Colbert, who had been very ill. A little over a year later, Lorna died aged 92. Before her death, Colbert missed a week of work, and when he returned, he took a moment to pay tribute to his mother.

"When you watch the show, if you also like me, that's because of my mom," Colbert told his audience (via Slate). He was visibly emotional as he recalled his mother's love for all of her children. "We were the light of her life, and she let us know it till the end," he said. He also touched on his childhood, and how his mother was one of the reasons he ended up pursuing a career in entertainment. "Singing and dancing were encouraged, except at the dinner table," Colbert shared (via Today).

The talk show host admitted that his mother's death left an empty space in his life he had no idea how to fill. "I know it may sound greedy to want more days with a person who lived so long," he told his audience. "But the fact that my mother was 92 does not diminish it ... only magnifies the enormity of the room whose door has now quietly shut."

In December 2023, Stephen Colbert returned to "The Late Show" after an unexpected three-week break. The comedian had let fans know on Threads that he was down for the count, thanks to a ruptured appendix. "Sorry to say that I have to cancel our shows this week. I'm sure you're thinking, 'Turkey overdose, Steve? Gravy boat capsize?' Actually, I'm recovering from surgery for a ruptured appendix," Colbert penned. "Going forward, all emails to my appendix will be handled by my pancreas."

While Colbert managed to make good fun of the situation, he spoke more candidly about how bad an experience it had really been upon his return to "The Late Show" a few weeks later. He admitted that he'd done a few shows while in immense pain, refusing to admit to himself that something was seriously wrong. He confessed that his pain was "off the charts" when he did the last show before eventually going to the hospital, which he only did because his wife insisted. Colbert had blood poisoning and had to undergo emergency surgery. He quipped, "I'd like to thank my appendix, because you giving me blood poisoning helped me lose 14 pounds. Ladies and gentleman, you heard it here first — appendicitis is the new Ozempic."

While Colbert made fun of the situation, he did admit at the beginning of his monologue that he'd been in "a heap of trouble" before he went to the hospital. He'd simply been unaware of the danger he was in. Appendicitis, if left untreated, can be life-threatening.

Appendicitis isn't the only health issue Stephen Colbert has had to deal with. The comedian has also been diagnosed with a condition called benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). This condition makes the affected person feel dizzy when they move their head. It isn't particularly serious, but can lead to falls.

The Mayo Clinic notes that, oftentimes, doctors have a hard time pinpointing the exact cause of BPPV, but it can occur after hitting your head or if you've suffered damage to your inner ear. In some people, migraines can also trigger BPPV. In Colbert's case, it's likely he developed BPPV because of issues with his ears. He told The New Yorker in 2005 that he's deaf in his right ear because of a tumor that was removed when he was just a child.

The comedian first experienced symptoms of BPPV ahead of the 2020 election. In typical Colbert fashion, he made light of his latest health issue during an interview with Vanity Fair. "It's almost entertaining, until I forget," he quipped. "And then I go to stand up, and then I just fall down. So, I'm coming to you right now from a very weird angle, slightly listing to port." Colbert was given exercises to do to help ease the symptoms. BPPV can resolve on its own but the prescribed exercises can help ease symptoms faster.

In 2024, Stephen Colbert suffered another devastating loss. His longtime assistant, Amy Cole, died after a battle with cancer at the age of 53. Colbert paid tribute to Cole on "The Late Show" after her death, and instead of ending the April 1 episode on a high note, the comedian was visibly upset as he ended the show with a simple, "That's it for 'The Late Show.' Good night" (via Deadline). A title card paying tribute to Cole followed Colbert's exit.

Cole had worked with Colbert for 16 years, and at the 2025 Emmy Awards, it was clear the late show host still missed his colleague dearly. While making an acceptance speech after winning the award for Outstanding Talk Series, Colbert once again paid tribute to Cole. "I want to dedicate to my mom and dad, [my wife Evie's] mom and dad, and a young woman who should be here tonight: Amy Cole," Colbert said to the audience (via Us Weekly).

Stephen Colbert's late night show has become such an integral part of his fans' daily lives that they likely can't imagine life without it. Unfortunately, that became a reality in July 2025 when CBS announced that Colbert's show would come to an end in May 2026. The comedian announced the news to his audience on "The Late Show" a day later, and while he tried to deliver it as gently as possible (with the appropriate quips) it was clear the live audience was less than pleased, loudly booing at the news. Colbert nodded and admitted, "Yeah, I share your feelings."

There were whispers that CBS' parent company, Paramount, canceled Colbert's show amid pressure from the Trump administration. The president celebrated the cancellation of the show but denied he had anything to do with it. "The reason he was fired was a pure lack of TALENT," Donald Trump penned on Truth Social.

While making an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in September 2025, Colbert admitted the news hit him hard, but the hardest part had been to tell his staff. He initially wanted to put it off, but his wife convinced him to get it over with. "And we get into the building, I go up in the elevator, I walk through the offices. By the time I get to my offices, I have sweat through my shirt," Colbert told Kimmel. The comedian told his executive producer first and waited until after that evening's show to share the news with the rest of his staff before relaying it to his audience.