Wilmer Valderrama
Wilmer Valderrama at opening of Marquee nightclub in Sydney, Australia
Born	Wilmer Eduardo Valderrama (1980-01-30) January 30, 1980 (age 33) Miami, Florida, United States
Other names	Eduardo Fresco
Occupation	Actor, voice actor, singer, dancer, producer
Years active	1998–present

Wilmer Eduardo Valderrama (born January 30, 1980) is a Venezuelan/Colombian-American actor and television personality, known for the role of Fez in the sitcom That '70s Show, hosting the MTV series Yo Momma, and voicing the character of Manny in the children's show Handy Manny. He most recently starred as Detective Efrem Vega in the 2012 NBC series Awake.

Early life [edit]

Valderrama was born in Miami, Florida, the son of Sobeida (née Arias) and Balbino A. Valderrama, who owned a farm equipment rental company.^[1] He is of Venezuelan and Colombian descent.^[2] 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, Christian. He attended Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California.

Career [edit]

Television and film career [edit]

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 senior 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 produced and hosted the MTV series Yo Momma from 2006 to 2007, 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).^[3] 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. In January 2007, Valderrama launched his own men's fashion label called "Calavena".^[4]

In 2010, Valderrama guest-starred on Disney Channel's series Wizards of Waverly Place playing the role of Theresa Russo's brother, Ernesto. In 2011, he appeared in three episodes of USA Network's Royal Pains as Eric Kassabian, an art dealer.

In 2012, Valderrama co-hosted Premios Juventud as a superhero on July 19, 2012. In August 2012, he appeared alongside Vanessa Curry and Leighton Meester in house music group Nomads' music video of "Addicted to Love".^[5]

Music career [edit]

On May 11, 2011 he released his song "The Way I Fiesta", which he performed as his alter ego Eduardo Fresco. The video was directed by Akiva Schaffer from the group The Lonely Island. Danny Masterson, Valderrama's co-star from That '70s Show, has a cameo appearance in the video. He appeared in the 2009 music video for Wisin y Yandel's song "Imagínate". He also appeared and produced the 2011 video for LMFAO's song "Sexy and I Know It". At the Billboard Latin Music Awards he said that he is making music which he will release in Spanish and English. On July 27, 2012, he had an interview with Latina and said that he is recording a bunch of amazing tracks and is working with great artists/producers from both the English and the Spanish side. He said he was hoping to release more music in 2013.^[6][7]

Other work [edit]

He codirected Omar Cruz' To The Top featuring Frankie J. He also worked with Puerto Rican reggaeton duo Wisin & Yandel's video Imagínate featuring the rapper T-Pain, as well as Colombian singer Fanny Lú's video "Tu No Eres Para Mi", where he portrays her boyfriend. Valderama has guest appeared on Shane Dawson video on September 1.

Filmography [edit]

Film [edit]

Television [edit]

Video games [edit]

TV commercials [edit]

• Heineken "The Tiger" with Valeska Castillo

Discography [edit]

Singles [edit]

Guest apperances [edit]

Music videos [edit]

Cameo appearances [edit]

• Paula DeAnda – "Easy"
• Omar Cruz Feat. Frankie J – "To The Top"
• Fanny Lú – "Tu No Eres Para Mi"
• Wisin & Yandel Feat. T-Pain – "Imagínate"
• Rob Thomas – "Ever the same"
• LMFAO - "Sexy and I Know It"

See also [edit]

• Celebrities who have been Punk'd
• Famous Colombians
• Famous Venezuelans

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wilmer Valderrama

• Wilmer Valderrama at the Internet Movie Database