Alfonso Lincoln Ribeiro (born September 21, 1971) is an American actor, comedian and television host. He is best known for his roles as Alfonso Spears on the

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

Silver Spoons ''Silver Spoons'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982, to May 11, 1986, and in first-run syndication from September 27, 1986, to May 30, 1987. The series was produced by Embassy Television for the f ...

'',

Carlton Banks Carlton Banks is a fictional character portrayed by Alfonso Ribeiro on the NBC television sitcom ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' from September 1990 to May 1996, the preppy and politically conservative cousin, main foil, and eventual close friend ...

on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart ...

'', and Maxwell Stanton on '' In the House''. He is the current host of ABC's ''

America's Funniest Home Videos ''America's Funniest Home Videos'', also called ''America's Funniest Videos'' (abbreviated as ''AFV''), is an American video clip television series on ABC, based on the Japanese variety show ''Fun TV with Kato-chan and Ken-chan''. The show featur ...

'', replacing

Tom Bergeron Thomas Raymond Bergeron (born May 6, 1955) is an American television personality, game show host, comedian and actor, best known for hosting ''Hollywood Squares'' from 1998 to 2004, ''America's Funniest Home Videos'' from 2001 to 2015, and ''Danci ...

, who left after 15 years. Ribeiro has hosted the GSN game show '' Catch 21'', the

ABC Family The American cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and six different name changes) during its h ...

show '' Spell-Mageddon'', and the television show '' Dance 360''. He also starred in the title role of the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical '' The Tap Dance Kid'' and took part in the 13th season of the British reality show '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' Ribeiro won Season 19 of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...

'' with professional partner Witney Carson, then later became the co-host alongside

Tyra Banks Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), also known as BanX, is an American television personality, model, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15, and was the first Africa ...

starting from Season 31.

Early life

Ribeiro was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in the Riverdale neighborhood of

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

to Afro-Trinidadian parents. His paternal grandfather was Albert Ribeiro, a Trinidadian calypsonian of African and Portuguese descent, known professionally as Lord Hummingbird.

Career

Early work

Ribeiro began his career at age 8. He first gained recognition in 1983 when he played a leading role in the Broadway musical '' The Tap Dance Kid''. He received positive reviews for his performance and was nominated for an

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newsp ...

. Ribeiro appeared as a dancer in a

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi wa ...

commercial that featured

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

in 1984; a rumor spread that Ribeiro died from snapping his neck while dancing in the commercial. The same year, Ribeiro was cast as Rick Schroder's best friend on the

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...

''. In 1985, Ribeiro appeared as himself in a commercial on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, advertising a dance instruction book he authored, ''Alfonso's Breakin' & Poppin' Book''. He also released four

12-inch The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

singles on

Prism Records Prism Records was an American record label formed in 1978 by Len Fichtelberg (d. November 4, 2010). It was originally an independent label, focusing on the New York City R&B and disco scene of the day with groups like Erotic Drum Band and disco ...

, including the 1984 track, "Dance Baby".

''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air''

Ribeiro's most prominent role was as

, the cousin of

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

lead character A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

, on the

sitcom ''

'' from September 1990 to May 1996. Carlton was known for frequently dancing to

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

' " It's Not Unusual", a dance routine that gained fame as "The Carlton".

Later work

He later starred on the sitcom '' In the House'' with

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

from 1997 to 1999. Ribeiro competed as one of the celebrity singers on the reality television show '' Celebrity Duets'' in September 2006, winning over the runner-up

Lucy Lawless Lucille Frances Lawless (; born 29 March 1968) is a New Zealand actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Xena in the television series '' Xena: Warrior Princess'', as D'Anna Biers on the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' seri ...

. In July 2008, Ribeiro hosted the game show '' Catch 21'' on GSN. He directed some episodes of '' Meet the Browns'' and a majority of the Season 2 episodes of the '' Are We There Yet?'' television series. Ribeiro hosted his second game show '' Spell-Mageddon'', on

, in 2013. On May 24, 2013, Ribeiro made a cameo appearance on ''

The Graham Norton Show ''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton ...

'' to perform "The Carlton Dance", with show guests

Will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and wi ...

and Jaden Smith. In November of that year, Ribeiro took part as a contestant in the thirteenth series of the British reality show, '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here''. He was eliminated from the show on December 5, 2013, finishing in seventh place. On September 4, 2014, Ribeiro was announced as one of the celebrities who would compete on Season 19 of ''

''. He partnered with professional dancer Witney Carson. He became the fourth celebrity dancer in the show's history to receive a 9 from each judge in week one. On November 25, 2014, Ribeiro and Carson won the competition. In September 2015, he returned as a guest judge in week three of Season 21, and he substituted for

as host the following week. In Season 31, he became a co-host of the show, alongside current host

. On May 19, 2015, Ribeiro was named Bergeron's successor to host ''

''. In July 2015, Ribeiro made a cameo appearance in the music video for " All Night" by pop-rock band R5. In October 2018, he was announced as the host of the UK game show ''Money Tree''. On October 12, 2018, Ribeiro was announced to sit in for

Bruno Tonioli Bruno Tonioli (; born 25 November 1955) is an Italian choreographer, ballroom and Latin dancer, and Television personality. He has appeared as a judge on the British television dance competition '' Strictly Come Dancing'' and American adaptatio ...

as guest judge on ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 j ...

'' for week 5. He joined regular judges

Craig Revel Horwood Craig Revel Horwood (born 4 January 1965) is an Australian-British author, dancer, choreographer, conductor, theatre director, and former drag queen in the United Kingdom. He is also a patron of the Royal Osteoporosis Society. Horwood is best ...

, Darcey Bussell, and

Shirley Ballas Shirley Annette Ballas (née Rich, formerly Stopford; born 6 September 1960) is an English ballroom dancer, dance teacher, and dance adjudicator. She specialises in the International Latin division, where she won several championship titles w ...

. This also occurred for week 5 of the 2019 series. He also appeared as a contestant on a special Child TV Stars episode of ''

Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host Anne Robinson completed her contract. ...

'' in 2001. He made it into the final round but lost to Keshia Knight-Pulliam. ''Catch 21'' was revived in 2019, and Ribeiro returned as the host. His role earned him a 2020 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Game Show Host, but he lost to

Alex Trebek George Alexander Trebek (; July 22, 1940 – November 8, 2020) was a Canadian-American game show host and television personality. He is best known for hosting the syndicated general knowledge quiz game show ''Jeopardy!'' for 37 season ...

. He earned another nomination the following year, but again lost to Trebek. In 2020, Ribeiro starred in a series of commercials for

State Farm Insurance State Farm Insurance is a large group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Overview State Farm is the largest property and casualty insurance provider, and the lar ...

as a fanatic of

Chris Paul Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and “The Point God”, is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Paul is widely regarded as one o ...

. In 2021, Ribeiro voiced a character in '' Muppets Haunted Mansion''.

''The 90s with Alfonso Ribeiro''

On July 6, 2019, the syndicated radio show ''The 90s with Alfonso Ribeiro'' launched on multiple radio stations across the country via

Sun Broadcast Group The Sun Broadcast Group is an American radio network headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida and New York City. The network covers over 5,500 affiliates and serves around 140 million monthly listeners in both English and Spanish as of 2014. In 2014 a ...

. Radio veteran Daena "DK" Kramer joined him as co-host. The three-hour weekly show celebrates 1990s music and culture while Alfonso and DK share their stories, pop culture facts and memories from the 1990s.

Personal life

Family

Ribeiro was married to Robin Stapler from January 2002 until August 2006. They have a daughter, born in October 2002. Ribeiro married Angela Unkrich on October 13, 2012, following a three-month engagement. The two live in Los Angeles and have three children born in 2013, 2015, and 2019.

Motorsports

Ribeiro competed in several editions of the

Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race The Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race was an annual 10-lap auto race held each April since 1977 until 2016 as part of the United States Grand Prix West, and later the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend at Long Beach, California. Beginning in 1991, t ...

car race at Long Beach, earning an overall win in 2015 and celebrity class wins in 1994, 1995 and 2016. He also worked as radio spotter for

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed ...

racecar driver

Bryan Herta Bryan John Herta (born May 23, 1970) is an American former race car driver. He currently runs his own team, Bryan Herta Autosport in the NTT IndyCar Series. His team won the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with driver Dan Wheldon and the 2016 Indianapolis ...

, and performed the national anthem at CART and

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

races.

Lawsuit against Epic Games

In December 2018, Ribeiro, along with

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

star Russell Horning, aka Backpack Kid, and rapper Terrence Ferguson, aka 2 Milly, brought a lawsuit against

Epic Games Epic Games, Inc. is an American video game and software developer and publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeney as Potomac Computer Systems in 1991, originally located in his parents' house in Potomac, ...

for their decision to feature respective choreographies in the popular game '' Fortnite''. In Ribeiro's case, his "Carlton dance", which he made popular in the 1990s as a cast member of ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', is one of the many dances that ''Fortnite'' players can purchase for their avatars. Epic Games declined to comment on the lawsuits. The U.S. Copyright Office denied him a copyright for his dance on January 13, 2019. On March 7, 2019, Ribeiro dropped the lawsuit.

Filmography

Acting

Directing

''Dancing with the Stars'' performances

Ribeiro was partnered with Witney Carson for season 19. On November 25, 2014, Ribeiro and Carson were declared the season's champions. In November 2017, Ribeiro returned to 25th season in Week eight, to participate in a trio Jive with

Frankie Muniz Francisco Muniz IV (; born December 5, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), which earned him an Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Award ...

and his professional partner Witney Carson. ¹ Score given by guest judge

Kevin Hart Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. Originally known as a stand-up comedian, he has since starred in Hollywood films and on TV. He has also released several well-received comedy albums. After winning se ...

in place of Goodman. ²The American public scored the dance in place of Goodman with the averaged score being counted alongside the three other judges. ³This week only, for "Partner Switch-Up" week, Ribeiro performed with Cheryl Burke instead of Carson. ⁴Score given by guest judge

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...

in place of Goodman. ⁵Score given by guest judge Pitbull in place of Goodman.

References

External links

*
Alfonso Ribeiro
at

Yahoo! Movies Yahoo! Movies (formerly Upcoming Movies), provided by the Yahoo! network, is home to a large collection of information on movies, past and new releases, trailers and clips, box office information, and showtimes and movie theater information. Yaho ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ribeiro, Alfonso 1971 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American game show hosts American male child actors American male dancers American male musical theatre actors American male television actors American male voice actors American people of Portuguese descent American people of Trinidad and Tobago descent American tap dancers California State University, Los Angeles alumni Dancing with the Stars (American TV series) winners Entertainers from the Bronx I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants Male actors from New York (state) Male actors from New York City Musicians from the Bronx People from Riverdale, Bronx