Noah Schnapp

Noah Cameron Schnapp was born in New York City to Mitchell and Karine Schnapp (née Perez), who are both originally from Montreal, Canada.^[4] He was raised in Scarsdale, New York,^[5][6] along with his twin sister, Chloe.^[7][8] He holds both U.S. and Canadian citizenship.^[5][9] Schnapp is Jewish and held his bar mitzvah in Israel.^[10][11] His mother is of Moroccan Jewish descent.^[12][13]

Schnapp was inspired to pursue acting at age 5 after seeing the Broadway production of Annie.^[14] He performed acting roles in school and community plays.^[6] When he was 8, his acting teacher suggested he attempt a professional career.^[14] Schnapp's parents registered him for an acting program at Star Kidz in Westchester, where he was guided by coach Alyson Isbrandtsen. It was under her guidance that he was subsequently introduced to MKS&D Talent Management, which opened up avenues for his career.^[6]

In 2019, Schnapp launched a YouTube channel under his own name.^[34] Active for a year and a half, he primarily created vlogs and lifestyle videos. As of June 2022, the channel has 4.2 million subscribers and has gained 110 million views.^[35]

In November 2021, he launched To Be Honest (TBH), a sustainability-focused snacking company he co-founded with Elena Guberman and Ba Minuzzi.^[36][37][38] In November 2022, Schnapp announced a crowdfunding campaign for this venture on the Republic platform that aimed to raise a maximum amount of $1.235 million at a $15 million valuation cap.^[39][40] In 2023, he launched TenderFix, a delivery-only virtual restaurant brand operated by IHOP with a menu of chicken tenders.^[41][42]

Schnapp also worked as a lifeguard, a job he took on during his summer break before college.^[43]

As of 2025^[update], Schnapp attends the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in entrepreneurship and innovation. He graduated in 2026.^[43][44][45]

Schnapp publicly came out as gay in a video posted to his TikTok account on January 5, 2023.^[46][47] The video saw him express relief that family and friends had accepted his coming out, and he quipped in the video's caption, "I guess I'm more similar to Will [Byers] than I thought", a reference to his statement about his Stranger Things character also being gay.^[48] He is the godparent of the adopted child of his Stranger Things co-star Millie Bobby Brown and her husband Jake Bongiovi.^[49]

At the start of the Gaza war, Schnapp publicly condemned the October 7 attacks and those celebrating it.^[50][51] A month after the attacks, a video circulated on social media showing him sitting with people who were handing out "Zionism is sexy" and "Hamas is ISIS" stickers, leading some fans to demand his removal from the cast of Stranger Things and to threaten to boycott the show's fifth and final season.^[52][53] In January 2024, he posted a TikTok video advocating for "peace for both sides" and asking for "understanding and compassion," stating that his thoughts and beliefs on the war had been misconstrued.^[54]