Bassem Youssef (باسم يوسف)

Bassem Youssef, born Bassem Raafat Mohamed Youssef on 21 March 1974 in Cairo, is an Egyptian-American comedian, television host, actor and former physician. He began his career with The B+ Show (2011), inspired by his experiences during the 2011 Egyptian revolution, and later rose to prominence as the host of El Bernameg (2011-2014), a satirical comedy show focused on Egyptian politics. In 2015 he hosted the 43rd International Emmy Awards in New York City.

Youssef graduated from Cairo University's Faculty of Medicine, majoring in cardiothoracic surgery, in 1998, and practiced as a cardiothoracic surgeon in Egypt for 13 years before moving into comedy and political satire. In January 2011 he assisted the wounded in Tahrir Square during the Egyptian revolution. His first satirical show, The B+ Show, named after his blood type, was shot in his laundry room and uploaded to YouTube in May 2011, gaining more than five million views in its first three months.

After the success of The B+ Show, Egyptian channel ONTV offered him a deal for Al Bernameg, making him the first Internet-to-TV conversion in the Middle East. The show's second season recorded one of the highest viewership ratings on both TV and internet. In 2013 Youssef was named on the Time 100 and on Foreign Policy's 100 Leading Global Thinkers. His life and career were profiled in the 2017 documentary Tickling Giants, and he authored the book Revolution For Dummies that same year. He has received the CPJ International Press Freedom Award.