Ralph Barbosa (born October 3, 1996) is an American

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehear ...

. His career began gaining traction in 2019 when he was named the Funniest Comic in Texas. His performance at a Don't Tell Comedy show garnered over 4.6 million views on YouTube by September 2023. In 2021, he won a

New York International Latino Film Festival The New York Latino International Film Festival or NY Latino International Film Festival is a major Hispanic film festival located in New York City. The festival features over sixty films, shorts, and documentaries over the course of six days, along ...

competition and hosted the

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special ''Entre Nos: The Winners 3''. Barbosa made his late-night debut on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It i ...

'' in January 2023. His comedy special ''Ralph Barbosa: Cowabunga'', released on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

in October 2023.

Early life and education

Barbosa was born on October 3, 1996, in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and was raised in

Mesquite, Texas Mesquite is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Dallas County, Texas, Dallas County with portions extending into Kaufman County, Texas, Kaufman County. The population was 150,108 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and maki ...

. His mother gave birth to him when she was 16 years old, and he was raised by his grandmother, who was an immigrant from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. His father owned a body shop in Oak Cliff, where he painted cars. He attended North Mesquite High School, and during his senior year, he began performing comedy for his class to distract his teachers. Before pursuing comedy full-time, Barbosa worked as a barber at Oak Cliff Barbers.

Career

In 2019, he was awarded the Funniest Comic in Texas. His performance at a Don't Tell Comedy pop-up show went viral, amassing 4.6 million views on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

by September 2023. In 2021, Barbosa won the New York Latino Film Festival Stand-Up competition presented by

and

HBO Latino Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

. He was later featured as a host of the

comedy special ''Entre Nos: The Winners 3'' alongside Gwen La Roka. In January 2023, Barbosa made his late-night television debut on ''

''. The next month, during a taping of the podcast ''OMG HI!'' with comedian

George Lopez George Edward Lopez (born April 23, 1961) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is most known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom '' George Lopez''. His stand-up comedy examines race and ethnic relations, including Mexican ...

, guest

Steve Treviño Steve Treviño is an American stand-up comedian, writer, and producer. He has released four stand-up specials, the first of which was filmed for Showtime, the second released on Netflix, and the third is now available on Amazon Prime Video, th ...

praised Barbosa's rising career, prompting Lopez to respond, "Nobody knows who that motherfucker is," and disagree with Treviño's wish to ease the path for young Latino comedians. The clip of Lopez's comments went viral, sparking backlash towards Lopez, leading him to later privately apologize to Barbosa. He announced his Super Cool Ass Tour on November 14, 2023, via

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. In December 2023, he and

Melissa Villaseñor Melissa Anne Villaseñor ( ; born October 9, 1987) is an American comedian, actress, musician, and illustrator. First garnering attention for her stand-up shows and impressions, Villaseñor found wider success when she was hired to join the cast ...

were named in the Top Latin Times' List of Best Stand-Up Comedians of 2023. '' The Latin Times'' described his style as "laid back and often invoking his Hispanic heritage to connect with audiences." On October 31, 2023, his comedy special ''Ralph Barbosa: Cowabunga'' was released on

. The special was filmed at the

Kessler Theater The Kessler Theater is a historic entertainment venue, originally constructed in 1941, and located in the Winnetka Heights neighborhood of Oak Cliff, Dallas, Texas. History The Kessler initially served as a neighborhood movie house, providing ...

, across the street from the old barbershop where he used to work. The special debuted at number three on Netflix’s Top 10 TV chart, where it remained for two weeks. Sean L. McCarthy of Decider recommended streaming it and rated it 9th among the 10 best stand-up comedy specials of 2023, praising Barbosa for being "cool, calm and effortlessly funny, even when joking about wondering what it means to be cool." In April 2024, Barbosa was tapped to host the show ''Introducing…'', which showcased up-and-coming comedic talent and kicked off the 2024 Netflix Is A Joke festival. In July 2024, he was named one of ''

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s 10 Comics to Watch, alongside Troy Iwata and Jackie Fabulous.

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbosa, Ralph 1996 births 21st-century American comedians American male comedians American people of Mexican descent American stand-up comedians Comedians from Dallas Hispanic and Latino American male comedians Hispanic and Latino American stand-up comedians Living people People from Mesquite, Texas People from Oak Cliff, Texas