Wilmer Valderrama
Wilmer Valderrama, 2005
Born	Wilmer Antoniocitation needed Valderrama January 30, 1980 (1980-01-30) (age 29) Miami, Florida, U.S.

Wilmer Eduardo^{citation needed} Valderrama (born January 30, 1980) is an American actor and television personality, best known for the role of Fez in the sitcom That '70s Show and the host of the MTV series Yo Momma, and the voice of Manny in the children's show Handy Manny.

Early life

Valderrama was born in Miami, Florida., the son of Sobeida and Balvino Valderrama, who owned a farm equipment rental company.¹ His mother is from Colombia and his father is from Venezuela.^{citation needed} The family moved to Venezuela when he was three years old, then to Los Angeles when he was thirteen. He has two sisters, Marylin and Stephanie, and a brother.

Career

Valderrama got his start performing in numerous plays, including A Midsummer Night's Dream and Rumors. He made his professional debut in a Spanish-language Pacific Bell commercial. At his drama teacher's suggestion, he got an agent and was immediately cast in the CBS miniseries Four Corners and in Omba Makamba on the Disney Channel. He made his big screen debut starring opposite Freddie Prinze Jr., Brittany Murphy, Matthew Lillard and Jessica Biel in the Warner Brothers film Summer Catch.

Valderrama played Fez on That '70s Show from 1998–2006; he was a junior in high school when the pilot episode was filmed. He also played DJ Keoki in the 2003 film Party Monster alongside Macaulay Culkin, Chloë Sevigny, Wilson Cruz and Seth Green. He has produced and hosted the MTV series Yo Momma since 2006, and appeared (involuntarily) as many as three times on another MTV mainstay, Punk'd, hosted by fellow That '70s alum Ashton Kutcher.

Valderrama appeared in the Los Angeles Times critic's choice play Blackout,^when? an adaptation of the feature film Drunks, and starred opposite Anjelica Huston and Ben Kingsley in the Actors' Fund of America one-performance only reading of Sunset Boulevard.^when? He filmed the short film La Torcedura in which he played the lead, and appeared in The Darwin Awards, an independent film directed by Finn Taylor, starring Winona Ryder and Joseph Fiennes.

In animation work, Valderrama voiced Rodrigo in Clifford's Really Big Movie, playing alongside John Ritter, Wayne Brady and Jenna Elfman. He also voices the main character, Manny, in Disney Channel’s Handy Manny series for preschoolers (He even starred in a minisode featuring his acting counterpart).² He had a starring role in El Muerto, an indie film directed by Brian Cox and based on the successful comic book created by Javier Hernandez.³ In January 2007, Valderrama launched his own men's fashion label called "Calavena".⁴

Valderrama made an appearance in Paula DeAnda's music video for "Easy", as well as Colombian singer Fanny Lu's video "Tu No Eres Para Mi", where he portrays her boyfriend.

Currently, he is working on a new sitcom he has created for Nickelodeon, entitled Earth to Pablo. It is about a family that recieves a teenage space alien instead of the foreign exchange student they were expecting. [1]

Filmography

Features:

• Summer Catch (2001)
• Party Monster (2003)
• Clifford's Really Big Movie (2004) (voice)
• Beauty Shop (2005)
• The Darwin Awards (2006)
• Zoom (2006)
• Fast Food Nation (2006)
• Unaccompanied Minors (2006)
• El Muerto (2007)[also known as- THE DEAD ONE]
• The Condor (2007) (voice)
• Save the Date (2007)
• Columbus Day (2008)
• Days of Wrath (2008)
• CHiPs (2009)

Short Subjects:

• La Torcedura (2004)
• Longtime Listener (2006)
• What a Girl Wants (2005)

Television work

• Four Corners (1998) (canceled after 4 episodes)
• That '70s Show Fez (1998–2006)
• MAD TV (2002)(Guest Star)(Skit- Chips 2002, as Erik Estrada)
• Yo Momma (TV series) (2006–present)
• Handy Manny (2006–present) (voice)
• A Day in a life of Allan Lund (In Production for 2009)
• "What A Girl Wants'

Charity

In 2008 he used his celebrity status to endorse a charity against drunk driving.

See also

• Celebrities who have been Punk'd
• Famous Venezuelans

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wilmer Valderrama

• Wilmer Valderrama at the Internet Movie Database
• Wilmer Valderrama Official Website
• Wilmer Valderrama on TV.com
• Website of Wilmer Valderrama's show Yo Momma