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

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 f ...

on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

sitcom ''

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

'', Alfonso Spears on the sitcom ''

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 th ...

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

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

'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 a recurring segment on the Japanese variety show '' Fun TV with Kato-chan and ...

'', taking over for

Tom Bergeron Thomas Raymond Bergeron (born May 6, 1955) is an American television personality, comedian, and game show host, best known for hosting ''Breakfast Time'' from 1994 to 1997, '' Hollywood Squares'' from 1998 to 2004, '' America's Funniest Home Vid ...

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

Catch 21 ''Catch 21'' is an American game show broadcast by Game Show Network (GSN). Created by Merrill Heatter (who also produced the show's predecessor '' Gambit''), the series follows three contestants as they play a card game centered on blackjac ...

'', the

ABC Family American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...

show '' Spell-Mageddon'', and the television show ''

Dance 360 Dance 360 (2004–2005) was a modern hip-hop television series that aired on UPN in which different dancers competed to win 360 dollars, an Xbox or a cell phone from Boost Mobile, and a Fuse Sunbird scooter. Sometimes, clothing gear from Ecko Un ...

''. At the beginning of his career, he 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 Stre ...

musical ''

The Tap Dance Kid ''The Tap Dance Kid'' is a musical based on the novel ''Nobody's Family is Going to Change'' by Louise Fitzhugh. It was written by Charles Blackwell with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics by Robert Lorick. Synopsis Act I William Sheridan, a s ...

'' and later took part in the 13th season of the British reality show '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''. Ribeiro won

season 19 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and polar ...

of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

'' with professional partner

Witney Carson Witney Capri Carson McAllister (née Carson; born October 17, 1993) is an American professional Latin dance, Latin ballroom dancer and choreographer. She first gained attention in 2012, when the then-18-year-old as the last female contestant in ...

, then later became the co-host alongside

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

starting from season 31. Ribeiro has served as the main host of ''Dancing with the Stars'' alongside co-host

Julianne Hough Julianne Alexandra Hough (; born July 20, 1988) is an American dancer, singer, actress and television personality. In 2007, she joined the cast of ABC's ''Dancing with the Stars'' as a professional dancer, winning two seasons with her celebrit ...

beginning with season 32 in 2023.

Early life

Ribeiro was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in the Riverdale neighborhood of

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

to parents of

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The population of Trinidad is notably diverse, with approximately 35% Indo-Trinidadian, 34% ...

descent. His paternal grandfather was Albert Ribeiro, a

calypsonian A calypsonian, originally known as a ''chantwell'', is a musician from the anglophone Caribbean who sings songs of the Calypso music, calypso genre. Calypsos are musical renditions having their origins in the West African griot tradition. Origin ...

known professionally as Lord Hummingbird. His aunt had been a dancer on ''

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for six seasons from January 22, 1968, to July 23, 1973, on the NBC television network. The show, hosted by comed ...

'' in the 1960s and 1970s.

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 ''

''. 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 news ...

. Ribeiro appeared as a dancer in a

Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...

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 Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

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 Richard Bartlett Schroder (born April 13, 1970) is an American actor and filmmaker. As a child actor billed as Ricky Schroder he debuted in the film '' The Champ'' (1979), for which he became the youngest Golden Globe award recipient, and went o ...

's best friend on the TV series ''

'', after which he and his family moved to Los Angeles. In 1985, Ribeiro authored a dance instruction book, ''Alfonso's

Breakin' ''Breakin (also known as ''Breakdance'' in the United Kingdom and ''Break Street '84'' in other regions) is a 1984 American breakdancing-themed musical film, musical film directed by Joel Silberg and written by Charles Parker and Allen DeBev ...

& Poppin' Book'', and appeared in a commercial advertising it. 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 surface, compar ...

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 dis ...

, including the 1984 track "Dance Baby". After ''Silver Spoons'' ended, Ribeiro took a hiatus from acting to finish high school and attend

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...

''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) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...

's lead character, 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 "It's Not Unusual" is a song written by Les Reed and Gordon Mills, first recorded by a then-unknown Tom Jones, after it had first been offered to Sandie Shaw. He intended it as a demo for her, but when she heard it she was so impressed with ...

", a dance routine that gained fame as "The Carlton". Ribeiro based "The Carlton" on

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

's "white man dance" and

Courteney Cox Courteney Bass Cox (born June 15, 1964) is an American actress and producer. She rose to international prominence by playing Monica Geller in the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004) and Gale Weathers in the horror film franchise '' Scream'' ...

's dance from

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

's " Dancing in the Dark" music video.

Later work

Ribeiro 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 and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

from 1997 to 1999. He graduated from the

New York Film Academy New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a Private college, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit film school and Drama school, acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles metropolitan ar ...

in 1999 and would go on to direct episodes of '' One on One'', ''

All of Us ''All of Us'' is an American sitcom that premiered on the UPN network in the United States on September 16, 2003, where it aired for its first three seasons. On October 1, 2006, the show moved to The CW, a new network formed by the merger of UP ...

'', '' Meet the Browns'', '' Are We There Yet?'', '' Shake It Up'' and ''

K.C. Undercover ''K.C. Undercover'' is an American comedy television series created by Corinne Marshall that aired on Disney Channel from January 18, 2015 to February 2, 2018. The series stars Zendaya, Veronica Dunne, Kamil McFadden, Trinitee Stokes, Tammy T ...

''. Ribeiro 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. Ribeiro competed as one of the celebrity singers on the reality television show ''

Celebrity Duets ''Celebrity Duets'' is an American reality television show, of the progressive game-show type, which combined celebrities of different backgrounds with professional singers in a weekly elimination competition. History The show was a take-off of t ...

'' in September 2006, winning over the runner-up

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

. From 2008 to 2016, Ribeiro hosted the game show ''

'' on GSN. 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 will ...

and

Jaden Smith Jaden Christopher Syre Smith (born July 8, 1998) is an American rapper and actor. The son of Jada Pinkett-Smith and Will Smith, he has received various accolades, including a Teen Choice Award, an MTV Movie Award, a BET Award and a Young A ...

. On July 24, he began hosting his second game show, '' Spell-Mageddon'', on

. On November 17, Ribeiro became 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, finishing in seventh place. On September 4, 2014, Ribeiro was announced as one of the celebrities who would compete on

of ''

''. He partnered with professional dancer

and 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. After his victory, he hosted the nationwide live tour for the show. On May 19, 2015, Ribeiro was named

's successor to host ''

''. In July, Ribeiro made a cameo appearance in the music video for " All Night" by pop-rock band R5. In September, he returned to ''Dancing with the Stars'' as a guest judge in week three of

season 21 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

, and he substituted for Bergeron as host the following week, after Bergeron's father became ill. In October 2018, he was announced as the host of the British game show ''Money Tree''. That month, it was also announced that Ribeiro would sit in for

Bruno Tonioli Bruno Tonioli (; born 25 November 1955) is a British-Italian television personality, choreographer and dancer. He has judged on the British television talent shows ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (2004–2019), ''DanceX'' (2007) and ''Britain's Got Ta ...

as guest judge on ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

'' for week 5, joining 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 a jud ...

Darcey Bussell Dame Darcey Andrea Bussell (born Marnie Mercedes Darcey Pemberton Crittle; 27 April 1969) is a retired English ballet dancer, ballerina and a former judge on the BBC television dance contest ''Strictly Come Dancing''. Trained at the Arts Educ ...

, and

Shirley Ballas Shirley Annette Ballas (née Rich, formerly Stopford; born 6 September 1960) is an English dancer and television personality. She specialises in the International Latin division, where she won several championship titles which earned her the n ...

. This would also occur in week 5 of the 2019 series. ''Catch 21'' was revived in 2019, and Ribeiro returned as the host, with his former ''Dancing with the Stars'' partner Witney Carson joining as co-host. His role earned him a 2020

Daytime Emmy The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

nomination for Outstanding Game Show Host, but he lost to

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

. 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 group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1922, it is the largest property, casualty and auto insurance provider in the United ...

as a

Chris Paul Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and "the Point God", is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded by some as one of the greatest p ...

impersonator. In 2021, he voiced a character in ''

Muppets Haunted Mansion ''Muppets Haunted Mansion'' is a 2021 American comedy Halloween special based on the Disney properties The Muppets and The Haunted Mansion. It was released on Disney+ on October 8, 2021. The plot stars Gonzo and Pepe as they face the challenge ...

''. In 2022, Ribeiro joined season 31 of ''Dancing with the Stars'' as co-host of the show, alongside host

. After Banks departed the show following season 31, Ribeiro became the main host of the show, with

joining as co-host, assuming Ribeiro's previous role.

''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 ...

, co-hosted by radio veteran Daena "DK" Kramer. The three-hour weekly show celebrates 1990s music and culture while Ribeiro and Kramer 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 from 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, the ...

car race in 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 draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

racecar driver

Bryan Herta Bryan John Herta (born May 23, 1970) is an American race strategist and former race car driver. He currently runs his own team, Bryan Herta Autosport in the NTT IndyCar Series and is the strategist for the #27 Andretti Autosport in the same se ...

, and performed the national anthem at CART and

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...

races.

Lawsuit against Epic Games

In December 2018, Ribeiro, along with

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

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 developer, video game and software development, software developer and video game publisher, publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeney (game developer), Tim Sween ...

for their decision to feature respective

choreographies Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer creates choreographies thro ...

in the popular game ''

Fortnite ''Fortnite'' is an online video game and game platform developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in seven distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: '' Fortnite Battle Roy ...

''. 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

Film

Television

Directing

''Dancing with the Stars'' performances

Ribeiro was partnered with

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 and racing driver. Muniz came to prominence in the 2000s playing the title character of the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), for which he was nominated for an E ...

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. The accolades he has received include the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and nominations for two Grammy Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards. 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 Cheryl Burke (born May 3, 1984) is an American dancer, model, and television host. She is best known for being a professional dancer on ABC's ''Dancing with the Stars''. She was the first female professional to win the show and the first prof ...

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 and songwriter. 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 ...

in place of Goodman. ⁵Score given by guest judge

Pitbull Pit bull is an umbrella term for several types of dog believed to have descended from bull and terriers. In the United States, the term is usually considered to include the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, American B ...

in place of Goodman.

Discography

Singles

References

External links

*
Alfonso Ribeiro
at

Yahoo! Movies Yahoo! Movies (formerly Upcoming Movies), provided by the Yahoo! network, was 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. Ya ...

* *
Alfonso Ribeiro
on

WISH-TV WISH-TV (channel 8) is a television station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is locally owned by Circle City Broadcasting alongside Marion-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate WNDY-TV (channel 23) and low-power, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ribeiro, Alfonso 1971 births Living people 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors African-American game show hosts African-American male child actors African-American male comedians African-American comedians American game show hosts American male child actors American male comedians American male dancers American male musical theatre actors American male television actors American male voice actors American people of Trinidad and Tobago descent American tap dancers Brighton Hall School alumni California State University, Los Angeles alumni Comedians from the Bronx Dancing with the Stars (American TV series) winners Male actors from the Bronx Musicians from the Bronx People from Riverdale, Bronx