On Wednesday night comedian Stephen Colbert paid tribute to his late mother Lorna Tuck Colbert, who died last week at the age of 92.

The Comedy Central host opened the show with the tribute, explaining why he had been absent for the past week.

At times holding back tears Colbert revealed a softer side to his character as he told the audience about his mother's life, her childhood and how she met her husband in a moving three minute monologue.

“If you watch this show and you also like me, that's because of my mom,” an emotional Colbert told viewers.

"She made a very loving home for us," Colbert said, remembering how she raised 11 children.

"No fight between siblings could end without hugs and kisses, though hugs never needed a reason in her house. Singing and dancing were encouraged, except at the dinner table. She had trained as an actress when she was younger and she would teach us how to do stage falls by pretending to faint on the kitchen floor."

“I know that it may sound greedy to want more days with a person who lived so long,” Colbert said.

“But the fact that my mother was 92 does not diminish; it only magnifies the enormity of the room whose door has now quietly shut.”

He concluded, “We were the light of her life, and she let us know it until the end. And that's it. Thank you for listening.”

Watch the tribute below.