Who is Hasan Minhaj?
Hasan Minhaj is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, and actor. He served as a senior correspondent for “The Daily Show” in 2014. He is known for his Netflix show “Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj” which has won two Peabody Awards and two Webby Awards.
Hasan Minhaj was born on September 23, 1985, in Davis, California, United States. He is 37 years old as of November 2022. Minhaj is a Muslim and of Uttar Pradesh descent.
About Hasan Minhaj’s Parents
Hasan Minhaj was born into an Indian-Muslim family. His parents, Najime Minhaj (father) and Seema Minhaj (mother) immigrated to the United States from India. Hasan lived with his father from the time of his birth till he was eight years old. During this time, his mother was away in India to complete her medical studies.
About Hasan Minhaj’s father – Najime Minhaj
Najime Minhaj is the father of American comedian Hasan Minhaj. He is an organic chemist residing in the United States. He is of Indian descent and South Asian ethnicity. Najime married Seema Minhaj (Hasan Minhaj’s mother) in the early 1980s and they have two children together. No other information is known about him.
About Hasan Minhaj’s mother – Seema Minhaj
Seema Minhaj (née Usmani) is a medical doctor residing in the United States. She was born in Aligarh, Uttar, Pradesh, India. Seema married Najime Minhaj (Hasan Minhaj’s father) in the early 1980s and they have two children. No other information is known about her.
About Hasan Minhaj’s siblings
Hasan Minhaj was born to his parents as the first of two children. He has a younger sister named Ayesha Minhaj.
a. Ayesha Minhaj
Ayesha Minhaj is the younger sister of Hasan Minhaj. She is a lawyer by profession. Ayesha was born in 1989 in Aligarh, Uttar, Pradesh, India. She is 33 years old as of November 2022. Ayesha Minhaj graduated from the University of California with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. She later enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law where she graduated with a Juris Doctorate. She started her career as a news associate for NBC News on the Bay Area Station.
She worked there as a journalist for several years before earning her Law degree. There is no information about her personal life. According to reports, Ayesha was conceived a few years after Seema Minhaj (Hasan Minhaj’s mother) returned to India to finish medical school. They both moved to the United States when Hasan was eight years old. However, the siblings never knew about each other until their first meeting.
Hasan Minhaj’s education
Hasan Minhaj attended Davis Senior High School, in California, United States. He later proceeded to the University of California, Davis where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 2007.
Hasan Minhaj’s wiki profile
| Full name | Hasan Minhaj |
| Place of birth | Davis, California, United States |
| Date of birth | September 23, 1985 |
| Age | 37 years old |
| Height | 5″11 |
| Career | Comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, and actor |
| Nationality | American |
| Religion | Islam |
| Parents | Najime Minhaj (Father) Seema Minhaj (Mother) |
| Marital status | Married |
| Wife | Beena Patel (m. 2015) |
| Children | 2 |
| Net worth | $8 million |
| Alma mater | Davis Senior High School University of California, Davis |
| @hasanminhaj |
Hasan Minhaj’s marriage and wedding
As of the time of publishing this article (November 2022), Hasan Minhaj is happily married to his wife Beena Patel. According to Hasan, he and Beena dated for ten years before getting married. They tied the knot in January 2015 and they have two children together.
About Hasan Minhaj’s wife – Beena Patel
Beena Patel is the legally wedded wife of Hasan Minhaj. She is an American health consultant and businesswoman. She was born on February 1, 1895, in California, United States. She is 37 years old as of November 2022. Beena is a Hindu of Gujarati descent. She attended Davis Senior High School for her primary education, and after that, she enrolled at the University of California where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior.
She also bagged a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of California Davis School of Medicine. Beena is currently serving as a Medical Health professional and consultant at MedAmerica, United States. Apart from this, she is also working as a program director for Homeless Patient Aligned Care. She got married to Hasan Minhaj in January 2015 and they have two children.
About Hasan Minhaj and Beena Patel’s marriage
Hasan Minhaj and Beena Patel met at the University of California, Davis in the United States. The couple dated for ten years before they got married in January 2015. However, before their marriage, the couple stayed true to tradition and didn’t cohabitate until they got married.
In an interview with New York Times in 2016, Hasan Minhaj said:
Beena and I didn’t move in together until we got married. We kept it very traditional. Mom, dad, if you are reading this, I had to evolve very quickly. I went from ‘scarface’ photos to family photos. I’d never had to throw pillows in my life, but I’ve been accustomed to them, and I will say that scented candles are nice.
According to reports, the couple’s different religions initially got in the way of their marriage. Hasan was brought up in a Muslim family while Beena grew up in a Hindu family and Muslim law prohibited Hasan Minhaj from marrying Beena.
Luckily, they were later allowed to tie the knot and the wedding followed Indian customs and traditions. In April 2018. The couple announced the birth of their first child, but they chose to keep the child’s identity a secret. In March 2020, they announced the birth of their second child, and just like the first child, they kept the identity of their second child a secret also.
Hasan Minhaj’s children
As of the time of publishing this article (November 2022), Hasan Minhaj is the proud father of two children – a boy and a girl. However, the identity and personal details of both children are currently unknown. His first child was born on April 23, 2018, in the United States. She is 4 years old as of November 2022.
Minhaj’s second child was born on March 20, 2020, in the United States. He is two years old as of November 2022. In an interview with Jimmy Fallon in 2021, Hasan Minhaj opened up about his fertility issues, revealing that he had to undergo surgery to boost his sperm count in order for him and Beena to conceive their second child.
Hasan Minhaj’s net worth
Hasan Minhaj has an estimated net worth of $8 million, as of 2022. He makes his earnings from his multiple TV and comedy shows as well as his movies.
About Hasan Minhaj and Malala controversy
Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani education activist and a 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. She was born on July 12, 1997, in Mingora, Pakistan. She is 25 years old as of November 2022.
In October 2022, Hasan made a joke about Malala, gloating that while the activist follows him on Instagram, he doesn’t follow her back.
It seemed like Hasan Minhaj had expected Malala to match his sense of humour and continue the joke, instead, she unfollowed him. He later posted a reel on Instagram titled “Malala Claps Back”.
Detailing the incident, Hasan Minhaj said;
On October 4th, I made a joke about Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala. I said she follows me on Instagram and I don’t follow her back. Then on October 5th, she puts up an Instagram story that says “Should I unfollow Hasan Minhaj?” 39% of her voters said, “Who is this man?” 38% of them said Yes. Instead of doing a run-off, she unfollowed me on Instagram. I’m sorry Malala, follow me back. I don’t know if I’ll follow you though, I am that petty.
In response, Malala reposted the reel on her Instagram story with the caption “Thanks to everyone who sent me this video because I no longer follow this man”.
In support of Malala, popular Indian actress Priyanka Chopra-Jonas shared a screenshot of Hasan Minhaj’s Instagram profile showing that she has also unfollowed the comedian over the incident. Priyanka wrote on her Instagram story “Same girl, same Malala. Guess he prefers petty over funny”.
How Hasan Minhaj started his comedy career
Hasan Minhaj became interested in comedy in early 2000 after seeing Chris Rock’s TV special “Never Scared” in April 2004 which happened to be the first stand-up special he watched. He started travelling to San Francisco to perform and he has won several awards, one of which includes Wild 94.9’s ‘Best Comic Standing’. In 2011, Hasan starred in the TV sitcom “State of Georgia”; and also in “Disaster Date”, an American hidden camera TV show on MTV that ran from 2009 -2011. He was later cast as the host of Failosophy on MTV in 2013. That same year, Hasan Minhaj hosted the show “Stand Up Planet and a web series “The Truth with Hasan Minhaj”. In November 2014, Hasan joined the Daily Show as a senior correspondent.
In October 2015, Hasan Minhaj’s one-man show “Homecoming King” debuted Off-Broadway. The show features a theme of the immigrant experience in the United States. The show also illustrated stories from his life as a second-generation Indian-American Muslim. He later turned the show into his first stand-up special “Hasan Minhaj” Homecoming King which premiered on Netflix in May 2017. The show was filmed at the Mondavi Center at Minhaj’s alma mater, UC Davis in January 2017 and won a TV Peabody Award.
In March 2018, Netflix announced that Hasan Minhaj would host his weekly show on their platform. The new show titled “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj” premiered on October 28, 2018. Hasan once revealed his comedy influences include Richard Pryor, Dave Chappelle, Trevor Noah, Junot Diaz, Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, and Stephen Colbert.
Hasan Minhaj’s controversy on Celebrity Jeopardy
Celebrity Jeopardy is an American game show hosted by American actress and game host Mayim Bialik. The show involves celebrity contestants competing against each other by answering trivia questions for a chance to win money for any charity of their choice.
On October 30, 2022, in an episode of celebrity jeopardy, Hasan Minhaj came under heavy backlash for what fans described as “unwatchable behaviour”. Hasan Minhaj had faced Will Wheaton from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and Troian Bellisario from “Pretty Little Liars” for a chance to move on to the semifinals. Wheaton came in first place while Hasan Minhaj came third place but didn’t win over the viewers. Fans criticized Hasan Minhaj for being too far and distracted from the game. They also described the comedian’s behaviour as painfully unfunny and cringy. He later went to Jimmy Fallon’s late-night show to apologize but instead, ended up insulting the Celebrity Jeopardy fans saying;
To the fans of jeopardy! I want to take this moment to apologize. Jeopardy! Fans, look at me. I’m sorry I desecrated an American institution. I’m sorry I ripped your 7. p.m. linear TV pacifier out of your geriatric mouth. And most importantly, I’m sorry for trying to make Jeopardy! Fun.
Jimmy Fallon later showed a clip of the episode in question where Hasan Minhaj was seen jumping up and down as he answered clues, celebrating correct answers and shouting out his responses to the host, Mayim Bialik.
