Theo Von is an American stand-up comedian, writer, and host of the podcast This Past Weekend.
He rose to fame after competing in the MTV reality competition show Road Rules and its spinoff The Challenge. Upon securing two victories and two runner-up awards in the show’s four-season runtime, he went on to compete in Last Comic Standing and Last Comic Downloaded, winning the latter.
Today, Theo Von runs one of the most popular podcasts on Spotify called This Past Weekend. He also appears in stand-up comedy shows and would occasionally write for various comedy projects.
Here’s everything you need to know about Theo Von, including Theo Von’s age, early life, career, and more.
Who Is Theo Von? Age and Early Life
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Theo Von, full name Theodor Capitani von Kurnatowski III, was born on March 19, 1980, to mother Gina Capitani and father Roland Theodor Achilles von Kurnatowski in Covington, Louisiana. His mother was originally from Wyoming, Illinois, while his father was a native of Bluefields, Nicaragua. As of March 2025, he’s 45 years old.
Theo Von grew up with his older brother Zefferino and younger sisters Rolanda and Whittier until the age of 14 when he filed for legal emancipation due to his mother’s alleged failure to provide proper care.
His father was battling cancer at the time, and his sister required a liver transplant at birth which led to her receiving more love and attention from their mother. “I always felt like I was trying to make things okay,” Theo Von said on his podcast. “I never felt okay.”
Image source: Reddit
For most of his childhood life, Theo Von grew up poor. He often reminisces about his childhood experiences, taking pride in making people laugh with his Southern lore.
“We cope with a lot of everyday life with laughter in Louisiana,” Theo Von told 225 Magazine, “People love to laugh there, and people love to sit around and joke around together. And that was where I’m from, so I just never stopped wanting that.”
Upon his emancipation, Theo would go to school with a backpack full of clothes and stay the night with any friend whose parents welcomed him.
At 16, Theo Von’s father passed away from cancer. Around the same time, Theo’s brother Zeff went to live with their grandparents. Theo later moved to Mandeville, Louisiana, where he went on to graduate from Mandeville High School.
Image source: Tiktok
Early Career
Theo’s love for comedy began with a simple goal—making his mother laugh. She had always been distant, and he saw humor as one of the few ways to earn her affection. However, he soon realized that no matter how hard he tried, he struggled to connect with her. Still, comedy became something he truly enjoyed and over time decided to turn it into a career.
In 2000, Theo Von auditioned for the MTV reality competition show The Real World while studying at Louisiana State University. He got accepted and appeared in several episodes.
He quickly became a fan favorite despite his controversial views (such as his refusal to participate in interracial dating) and went on to appear in four seasons and its spinoff, The Challenge. He won two out of four times and reached the finals the other two times.
He also competed in Last Comic Standing Season 4, making it to the semi-finals and winning the companion competition Last Comic Downloaded.
Image source: Google
In 2008, Theo Von competed in Reality Bites Back alongside Amy Schumer, Tiffany Haddish, and Bert Kreischer—and won. He became a familiar face in early 2000s comedy competition shows, winning most of the ones he participated in.
In the following years, Theo Von took on several hosting roles. These include Primetime in No Time, a Yahoo! web series that recapped primetime TV moments, and Deal With It, a TBS hidden-camera prank show produced by Howie Mandel. He also made cameo appearances in shows like Why? With Hannibal Buress and Inside Amy Schumer.
In 2016, Theo Von began a podcast called This Past Weekend. The series quickly took off and soon garnered thousands of live listeners per episode. As of March 17, 2025, This Past Weekend with Theo Von is among Spotify’s top podcasts.
Final Words
Theo Von is already 45 years old, an American comedian and podcaster, who rose to fame through MTV’s Road Rules and The Challenge, winning multiple times. He later pursued stand-up comedy, hosted shows, and launched This Past Weekend, a top Spotify podcast. His comedy reflects his tough childhood.
Featured image source: Google