John Oliver is well known on both sides of the Atlantic, but his most cherished role is that of husband to his wife, Kate Norley.
The English TV host began his career as a stand-up comedian in the U.K. before moving to New York City, where he worked on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and later became a U.S. citizen. Since 2014, he has hosted Last Week Tonight, making him a household name.
He met Norley in 2008, and they were married three years later. The couple have since welcomed two children together, but they have largely stayed out of the public eye.
Norley, a former U.S. Army medic, has also appeared on TV to advocate for her fellow veterans, but she keeps a low profile. However, that hasn’t stopped Oliver from expressing his pride in her — and sometimes joking about the differences between their jobs.
Oliver joked in 2013 on The Late Show with David Letterman that his wife is more “valuable” than he is, and is the “leader” in their home.
“How do you think it goes down when I come back from my day writing for a comedy show, writing jokes? You can see her eyes roll back into her head and go ‘just shut up,’ ” he quipped. “When you’ve been in a war you have no time for the insecurities of a mid-range comedian.”
So, who is John Oliver’s wife? Here is everything to know about Kate Norley and her relationship with the comedian.
She grew up in Virginia
Norley grew up in Virginia and attended Episcopal High School, a boarding school in Alexandria, according to Stars and Stripes.
She grew up in an affluent family. Her stepfather, Dennis Mannion, has been a sports executive in the MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL. According to the NBA, Dennis married Pam, Norley’s mother, when Norley was a child. Dennis likened their family to The Brady Bunch — when Dennis and Pam married, he had two sons, she had two daughters and they later had one more child together.
She survived a severe car accident at 16
When Norley was 16 years old, she was hit by a car while she was cycling and sustained a head injury, per Stars and Stripes. As a result, she had to relearn various cognitive skills, including reading and writing.
However, she made a full recovery and decided to forego college to join the army following the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
She’s an Iraq War veteran and former U.S. Army medic
Norley joined the Army after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which she recalled at a 2008 American Veterans Center conference as being “the scariest day” of her life. “I had no idea what was happening,” she said. “But I felt that I needed to react.”
At that same conference, she advocated for recognizing and supporting female veterans. She shared that when she returned home from overseas, she didn’t hear about women and the sacrifices they made while they served.
In the Army, she worked as a combat medic and mental health specialist. “If they told me tomorrow I could go home … I wouldn’t be satisfied I’m finished with what I set out to do,” she told Stars and Stripes. “I’m doing things I never dreamed I was capable of doing.”
During her deployment, Norley helped both soldiers and locals near Camp Blackjack in Iraq, and has since returned there to visit. While she was there, she met Eaman al-Gobory, who was studying at the University of Baghdad. Years later, Norley and al-Gobory reunited when al-Gobory received the International Women of Courage Award at the White House for her work helping sick and wounded children, per The Washingtonian.
She met Oliver at the Republican National Convention in 2008
Norley met Oliver at the 2008 Republican National Convention, where she was campaigning with Vets for Freedom and he was working on a story for The Daily Show, he shared on The Late Show with David Letterman in 2013. Oliver went into a restricted area and was chased by security. Because he was still on a temporary work visa, an arrest would put him at risk of deportation.
According to The Daily Beast, a group of veterans — including Norley — helped Oliver and his crew hide from security. The pair began emailing each other before they started to date.
She advocates for more funding for veterans
In 2008, Norley went on tour, rallying support for American troops, with the organization Vets for Freedom, according to NPR. The group was founded in 2006 by veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars to advocate for political candidates that support veterans. In 2007, Norley appeared on Fox News to argue for more military funding.
Norley is also involved with Team Rubicon, a nonprofit that sends veterans and first responders across the world to assist after natural disasters. As captured by Going Home Pictures, she traveled to the Philippines in 2013 to provide medical aid and logistical support after Typhoon Haiyan destroyed much of the Leyte islands.
Oliver proposed to her in 2010
The couple got engaged on a Caribbean vacation in July 2010. “We were in St. Thomas on holiday,” Oliver told PEOPLE.
“I was a medic in the Army,” Norley added. “It was difficult, but right now it’s nice that I get to spend time with the love of my life.”
“It’s the most emasculating thing I could possibly do to go out with someone who has actually done something valuable with their life,” Oliver added jokingly.
She married Oliver in 2011
The couple married a year later, in 2011. Norley and Oliver kept their nuptials private.
She is a mom of two sons
Norley and Oliver have two kids: Hudson, born in 2015, and another son, born in 2018.
In 2017, Oliver spoke about Hudson, who was born premature, on Last Week Tonight. “I have a son. He is 19 months old, he was born prematurely following a very difficult pregnancy and I’m worried about his health and I still worry about his health a lot,” he said.
Oliver casually announced the birth of his second child at the 2018 Emmy Awards Governors Ball, when the baby boy was 3 months old. Oliver described having two children as being “the best” experience.
“It’s bewildering [and] exhausting juggling that and the show, but no, it’s the greatest,” he told PEOPLE.
He added that his baby boy doesn’t do anything of note, other than “sleeping, s—ing and crying, in perfect rotation,” but gave an update on his older child.
“He’s going to start preschool. It’s going to be incredible,” Oliver said.
He added that the milestone might be an emotional one for him. “As a British person, I don’t really have a middle ground — it’s either no emotion at all or I’m collapsing in tears,” he said. “So it will probably be the second one.”
She’s fought for Republican causes
As seen on Last Week Tonight, Oliver may have supported Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, but when he and Norley met, she was campaigning for Republican candidates.
Oliver has been politically open-minded since meeting Norley. He described his wife as an “American with a capital ‘A’ ” to The Boston Globe and added that he’s more “defensive” of the country she fought for now.
“I’m a little more defensive of how America is perceived overseas,” he told the outlet in 2014. “America takes a lot of s—, much of it well earned, from the rest of the world. And yet when something terrible goes down, people are waiting for Americans to fall out of the sky and help them.”
As a tribute to his wife and her service, Oliver sometimes wears a 1st Cavalry Division pin, even wearing one in his 2013 appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman.
She and Oliver have attended the Emmy Awards together
In January 2024, Norley accompanied Oliver to the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, where Last Week Tonight won two awards.
“Thank you to my wife, Kate, who is here tonight. I love you very much,” the TV host said while accepting the Emmy for outstanding scripted variety series.
The couple had another Emmys date night in September 2024, when Oliver gave Norley another shout-out as he accepted the award that Last Week Tonight won for outstanding scripted variety series, though he did flub their son’s name in his excitement.
“I’d like to thank my wife, Kate and our kids, husband — ‘husband’ — Hudson, his name is Hudson. Ouch. That’s gonna come back to haunt me,” he said.
