Adored by smug blue-state yuppies everywhere, Stephen Colbert is the host of the second most popular fake news show on Comedy Central.

After a stint with Chicago's famed Second City improv group and creating a short-lived sketch comedy show Exit 57 on Comedy Central with Amy Sedaris, Colbert's luck changed when he landed a regular gig on The Daily Show: Although his early days on the program didn't generate much attention, he became one of the most popular figures on the program after host Craig Kilborn was replaced with Jon Stewart in 1999. Colbert left The Daily Show and debuted The Colbert Report on Comedy Central in October 2005.

A parody of right-wing yell-fests in which Colbert plays a self-obsessed, idiotic blowhard in the mold of Bill O'Reilly, The Colbert Report became a ratings success for Comedy Central in short order thanks to its most vocal booster, Jon Stewart. Colbert notorious ignited a YouTube sensation when spoke at the White House Correspondents' Dinner and skewered the administration just a few feet from the president and more recently garnered attention for his "presidential bid" in 2008 and "March to Keep Fear Alive" rally in 2010. [Image via Getty]