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Wilmer Valderrama
Wilmer Valderrama
Born	Wilmer Antonio Valderrama January 30, 1980 (1980-01-30) (age 28) Miami, Florida, U.S.

Wilmer Antonio Valderrama (born January 30, 1980) is an American actor, best known for the role of Fez in the sitcom That '70s Show. Valderrama was also the host for the hit show Yo Mama.

Biography

Early life

Valderrama was born in Miami, Florida, U.S., 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. 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.

He did not speak English upon his arrival, but he quickly learned the language in school and began drama classes during high school. Valderrama has said that he was aided in learning English from watching shows such as I Love Lucy. In one teen magazine^who?, it was said that Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty has helped him learn English and some french.

Professional work

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.

Recent projects

Valderrama recently appeared in the Los Angeles Times critic's choice play Blackout, 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. He has completed filming the short film La Torcedura in which he plays the lead, and recently wrapped production on 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.² He had 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 announced that he would launch 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 new video "Tu No Eres Para Mi", where he portrays her boyfriend.

Personal life

Valderrama, who maintains close friendships with former That '70s co-stars Topher Grace, Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson, has also managed some notable romantic liaisons in his off-screen life, having dated Mandy Moore for 18 months in 2000-01,⁵ and Lindsay Lohan in 2003-04.⁶ Much buzz was generated from a March 2006 radio interview with Howard Stern, where Valderrama bragged about the size of his penis, claimed to have stolen Moore's virginity, and rated the supposed sexual prowess of singer-actresses Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ashlee Simpson⁷. He has also been rumored to have dated Christina Milian.⁸

Filmography

Features:

• Summer Catch (2001)
• Party Monster (2003)
• Clifford's Really Big Movie (2004) (voice)
• Beauty Shop (2005)
• The Darwin Awards (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 (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)

Charity Work

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