Alfonso Ribeiro
Ribeiro in 2011
Born
Alfonso Lincoln Ribeiro

(1971-09-21) September 21, 1971
Riverdale, New York, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actor
  • television host
  • director
Years active1980–present
Spouses
  • Robin Stapler
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2002; div. 2006)​
  • Angela Unkrich
    ​
    (m. 2012)​
Children4

Alfonso Lincoln Ribeiro (born September 21, 1971) is an American actor and television host. He is best known for his roles as Carlton Banks on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Alfonso Spears on the sitcom Silver Spoons, and Maxwell Stanton on In the House. He is the current host of ABC's America's Funniest Home Videos, taking over for Tom Bergeron, who left after 15 years. Ribeiro has hosted the GSN game show Catch 21, the ABC Family show Spell-Mageddon, and the television show Dance 360. At the beginning of his career, he starred in the title role of the Broadway musical The Tap Dance Kid 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 of Dancing with the Stars with professional partner Witney Carson, then later became the co-host alongside Tyra Banks starting from season 31. Ribeiro has served as the main host of Dancing with the Stars alongside co-host Julianne Hough beginning with season 32 in 2023.

Early life

Ribeiro was born in New York City in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx[1] to parents of Trinidadian descent.[2] His paternal grandfather was Albert Ribeiro, a calypsonian known professionally as Lord Hummingbird.[3] His aunt had been a dancer on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In in the 1960s and 1970s.[3]

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.[4] He received positive reviews for his performance and was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award.[5] Ribeiro appeared as a dancer in a Pepsi commercial that featured Michael Jackson in 1984;[6] a rumor spread that Ribeiro died from snapping his neck while dancing in the commercial.[7] The same year, Ribeiro was cast as Rick Schroder's best friend on the TV series Silver Spoons,[8] after which he and his family moved to Los Angeles.[1]

In 1985, Ribeiro authored a dance instruction book, Alfonso's Breakin' & Poppin' Book, and appeared in a commercial advertising it.[9] He also released four 12-inch singles on Prism Records, including the 1984 track "Dance Baby".[10] After Silver Spoons ended, Ribeiro took a hiatus from acting to finish high school and attend California State University, Los Angeles.[3]

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Ribeiro's most prominent role was as Carlton Banks, the cousin of Will Smith's lead character, on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air from September 1990 to May 1996. Carlton was known for frequently dancing to Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual", a dance routine that gained fame as "The Carlton".[11] Ribeiro based "The Carlton" on Eddie Murphy's "white man dance" and Courteney Cox's dance from Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" music video.[1]

Later work

Ribeiro starred on the sitcom In the House with LL Cool J from 1997 to 1999.[12] He graduated from the New York Film Academy in 1999 and would go on to direct episodes of One on One, All of Us, Meet the Browns, Are We There Yet?, Shake It Up and K.C. Undercover.[3]

Ribeiro appeared as a contestant on a special child TV stars episode of Weakest Link in 2001.[13] 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 in September 2006, winning over the runner-up Lucy Lawless.[14] From 2008 to 2016, Ribeiro hosted the game show Catch 21 on GSN.[3]

On May 24, 2013, Ribeiro made a cameo appearance on The Graham Norton Show to perform "The Carlton Dance", with show guests Will and Jaden Smith.[15] On July 24, he began hosting his second game show, Spell-Mageddon, on ABC Family.[16] 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.[17] He was eliminated from the show on December 5, finishing in seventh place.[18]

On September 4, 2014, Ribeiro was announced as one of the celebrities who would compete on season 19 of Dancing with the Stars.[19] He partnered with professional dancer Witney Carson 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.[20] After his victory, he hosted the nationwide live tour for the show.[4]

On May 19, 2015, Ribeiro was named Tom Bergeron's successor to host America's Funniest Home Videos.[21] In July, Ribeiro made a cameo appearance in the music video for "All Night" by pop-rock band R5.[22] In September, he returned to Dancing with the Stars as a guest judge in week three of season 21, and he substituted for Bergeron as host the following week, after Bergeron's father became ill.[23]

In October 2018, he was announced as the host of the British game show Money Tree.[24] That month, it was also announced that Ribeiro would sit in for Bruno Tonioli as guest judge on Strictly Come Dancing for week 5, joining regular judges Craig Revel Horwood, Darcey Bussell, and Shirley Ballas.[25] This would also occur in week 5 of the 2019 series.[26]

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.[27] His role earned him a 2020 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Game Show Host, but he lost to Alex Trebek.[28] He earned another nomination the following year, but again lost to Trebek.[29]

In 2020, Ribeiro starred in a series of commercials for State Farm Insurance as a Chris Paul impersonator.[3] In 2021, he voiced a character in Muppets Haunted Mansion.[30]

In 2022, Ribeiro joined season 31 of Dancing with the Stars as co-host of the show, alongside host Tyra Banks.[31][32] After Banks departed the show following season 31,[33] Ribeiro became the main host of the show, with Julianne Hough joining as co-host, assuming Ribeiro's previous role.[34]

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, co-hosted by radio veteran Daena "DK" Kramer.[35][36] 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 with his first wife Robin Stapler

Ribeiro was married to Robin Stapler from January 2002 until August 2006.[37] They have a daughter, born in October 2002.[38]

Ribeiro married Angela Unkrich on October 13, 2012, following a three-month engagement.[39][40] The two live in Los Angeles and have three children, born in 2013, 2015, and 2019.[41][42][43]

Motorsports

Ribeiro competed in several editions of the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race car race in Long Beach, earning an overall win in 2015 and celebrity class wins in 1994, 1995 and 2016.[44] He also worked as radio spotter for CART racecar driver Bryan Herta, and performed the national anthem at CART and IndyCar Series races.[45]

Lawsuit against Epic Games

In December 2018, Ribeiro, along with Instagram star Russell Horning, aka Backpack Kid, and rapper Terrence Ferguson, aka 2 Milly, brought a lawsuit against Epic Games for their decision to feature respective choreographies in the popular game Fortnite.[46][47] 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.[48] On March 7, 2019, Ribeiro dropped the lawsuit.[49]

Filmography

Acting

Film and television
Year Title Role Notes
1980 Oye Willie TV series
1984–1987 Silver Spoons Alfonso Spears Recurring role; 72 episodes
1986 John Grin's Christmas Rocky Television film
1986 Magnum, P.I. Kenneth Episodes: "L.A." (2 hours), "Missing Melody"
1987 Mighty Pawns Frank Television film
1990 A Different World Zach Duncan Episode: "Hillmann Isn't Through With You Yet"
1990–1996 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Carlton Banks 147 episodes
1993 Ticks Darrel "Panic" Lumnley
1994 Bill Nye, the Science Guy Himself Episode: "Food Web"
1994 Soul Train Host Guest-hosted one episode
1994–1998 Spider-Man Randy Robertson / Teenage Robbie Robertson Voice
1996–1999 In the House Dr. Maxwell Stanton 51 episodes
1996 Kidz in the Wood Television film
1997 Extreme Ghostbusters Roland Jackson Voice
1999 V.I.P. Himself Episode: "The Last Temptation of Val"
2000 Your Big Break Host Game show
2001 Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase Moon Goon #1 Voice, television film
2001 One on One Lenny Richburg Episode: "Me and My Shadow"
2001 The Weakest Link Himself/contestant Game Show
2005 Love Wrecked Bert Hernandez
2006 Celebrity Duets Himself/contestant Winner
2008–2009 GSN Live Host
2008–2011, 2019–2020 Catch 21 Host Game show, 365 episodes
2011 Things We Do for Love Darren 4 episodes; also director
2012 Big Time Rush Captain McAllister Episode: "Bel Air Rush"
2013 Shake It Up Mr. Zigfeld Episode: "My Fair Librarian it Up"
2013 Spell-Mageddon Host 8 episodes
2013 The Graham Norton Show Himself UK comedy-chat show; cameo appearance in season 13, episode 8
2013 I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! Himself/contestant UK reality-competition show
2014 Dancing with the Stars Himself/contestant Season 19 winner
2015–2017 Unwrapped 2.0 Host/narrator Cooking Channel series
2015–present America's Funniest Home Videos Host/narrator ABC series
2016 Whose Line Is It Anyway? Himself Season 12 Episode 1
2016 The $100,000 Pyramid Himself (Celebrity Guest) Episode: "Alfonso Ribeiro vs. Mario Batali"
2018–2019 Strictly Come Dancing Himself (Guest Judge) Filled in for Bruno Tonioli
2021–present America's Funniest Home Videos: Animal Edition Host Nat Geo Wild series
2021 Muppets Haunted Mansion Fred TV special
2022–present Dancing with the Stars Co-Host/Host Disney+ series
2022 Big City Greens Mr. Extras Voice, episode: "Virtually Christmas"

Directing

Television
Year Title Notes Ref.
1995 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Episode: "I, Ooh, Baby, Baby"
1997-1998 In the House 4 Episodes
2006–2007 All of Us 26 episodes
2009–2010 Meet the Browns 8 episodes
2011–2012 Are We There Yet? 19 episodes
2012–2013 Shake It Up 7 episodes
2014 Mighty Med 1 episode
2015 Young & Hungry Episode: "Young & Part Two" (season 2) [50]
2015–2018 K.C. Undercover 2 episodes

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,[51] to participate in a trio Jive with Frankie Muniz and his professional partner Witney Carson.[52]

Week # Dance / Song Judges' score Result
Inaba Goodman Hough Tonioli
1 Jive / "3-6-9" 9 9 9 9 Safe
2 Samba / "Gettin' Jiggy wit It" 8 8 8 8 Safe
3 Quickstep / "Hey Goldmember" 8 81 8 8 Safe
4 Jazz / "It's Not Unusual" 10 102 10 10 Safe
53 Flamenco / "Angelica" 8 94 9 8 No elimination
6 Salsa / "Booty" 10 105 9 10 Safe
7 Rumba / "Ghost"
Team freestyle / "Time Warp"		 9
8		 9
8		 9
8		 9
8		 Safe
8 Cha-cha-cha / "Trust"
Jive dance-off / "Rip It Up"		 10
Awarded		 9
3		 9
Extra		 10
Points		 Safe
9 Foxtrot / "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"
Trio Paso Doble / "Turn Down for What"		 9
10		 9
10		 9
10		 10
10		 Safe
10
Semi-finals		 Argentine tango / "Love Runs Out"
Contemporary / "Love Runs Out" (acoustic version)		 9
10		 9
9		 9
10		 9
10		 Safe
11
Finals		 Jive / "3-6-9"
Freestyle / "Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)"
Cha-cha-cha and Argentine tango fusion / "Shut Up and Dance"		 10
10
10		 10
10
10		 10
10
10		 10
10
10		 Winner

1 Score given by guest judge Kevin Hart 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 in place of Goodman.

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

References

  1. 1 2 3 Dose, Sarah (October 13, 2014). "Alfonso Ribeiro reveals origin of 'Carlton Dance'". Des Moines Register. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Trini To D' Bone: Celebrities With Roots In Trinidad And Tobago". BET. August 30, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kimble, Julian (December 2, 2020). "The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business". The Ringer. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Alfonso Ribeiro - A Capitol Fourth". PBS. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  5. ↑ Williams, Marilyn; Parks, Rebecca (1998). "Alfonso Ribeiro". Encyclopedia.com.
  6. ↑ Keller, Richard (September 24, 2006). "Alfonso Ribeiro—a member of the Pepsi Generation". AOL TV. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Broadway star not dead". Lakeland Ledger. June 5, 1984.
  8. ↑ "Alfonso Ribeiro". TBS. Archived from the original on September 21, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  9. ↑ Ostroff, Joshua (October 9, 2014). "DWTS' Alfonso Ribeiro Has Been A Dancing Star Since 1983 (VIDEO)". HuffPost. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Alfonso Ribeiro: 10 Facts About the Star of CATCH 21". getTV. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  11. ↑ Rush, George; Molloy, Joanna Rush (September 5, 2008). "Greenlighting an airborne TV tie-in". The Daily News.
  12. ↑ "In the House - Full Cast & Crew". TV Guide. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  13. ↑ Wilkes, Neil (October 31, 2001). "NBC orders more celebrity 'Weakest Link'". Digital Spy. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  14. ↑ Sullivan, Kate (September 29, 2006). "Celebrity Duets: We have a winner!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  15. ↑ "The Graham Norton Show". BBC. May 24, 2013. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  16. ↑ Keveney, Bill (June 11, 2013). "Exclusive: Alfonso Ribeiro to host 'Spell-Mageddon'". USA Today. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  17. ↑ Eames, Tom (November 13, 2013). "I'm a Celebrity..." Digital Spy. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  18. ↑ Percival, Ash (June 12, 2013). "'I'm A Celebrity': Alfonso Ribeiro And Rebecca Adlington Voted Out Of The Jungle In Double Elimination". HuffPost. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  19. ↑ Lasser, John (September 4, 2014). "ABC announces new 'Dancing with the Stars' cast including Alfonso Ribeiro". Uproxx. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  20. ↑ Kubicek, John (November 25, 2014). "'Dancing with the Stars' Season 19 Finale Recap: And the Winner Is..." BuddyTV. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Alfonso Ribeiro Set as New Host of ABC's 'America's Funniest Home Videos'". Hollywood Reporter. May 19, 2015. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  22. ↑ R5 - All Night (Official Video). R5. July 8, 2015. Archived from the original on November 7, 2021 – via YouTube.
  23. ↑ Rosen, Christopher (October 5, 2015). "DWTS: Alfonso Ribeiro will fill in for Tom Bergeron". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  24. ↑ White, Peter (October 10, 2018). "'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air's Alfonso Ribeiro To Host British Gameshow 'Money Tree'". Deadline. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  25. ↑ Green, Alex (October 19, 2018). "Strictly Come Dancing: What you need to know ahead of this weekend". Irish Independent. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  26. ↑ Bevan, Nathan (October 18, 2019). "Who is Alfonso Ribeiro? The judge replacing Bruno Tonioli on Strictly Come Dancing this week". Wales Online. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  27. ↑ Nolasco, Stephanie (October 19, 2019). "Former 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' star Alfonso Ribeiro explains why he won't be doing sitcoms anytime soon". Fox News. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  28. ↑ "2020 Daytime Nominees (Performer - Non-Drama)". Daytime Emmy Awards. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  29. ↑ "2021 Daytime Nominees (Performer – Non-Drama)". Daytime Emmy Awards. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  30. ↑ Ortiz, Andi (October 8, 2021). "All the Celebrity Cameos in Disney+ Special 'Muppets Haunted Mansion'". TheWrap. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  31. ↑ Blackwelder, Carson (July 14, 2022). "Alfonso Ribeiro joins Tyra Banks as co-host for Dancing With the Stars season 31". Good Morning America. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  32. ↑ Rice, Lynette (July 14, 2022). "Dancing With The Stars Adds Alfonso Ribeiro As Co-Host; Tyra Banks To Return To Ballroom". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  33. ↑ Rice, Lynette (March 17, 2023). "Tyra Banks Is Leaving Dancing With The Stars". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  34. ↑ Rice, Lynette (March 20, 2023). "Dancing With The Stars Replaces Tyra Banks With Julianne Hough". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  35. ↑ "The '90s With Alfonso Ribeiro Does Weekends". All Access. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  36. ↑ "Ribeiro Revisits The '90s". Radio Ink. July 9, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  37. ↑ Margaret, Mary (August 10, 2006). "Fresh Prince Star Alfonso Ribeiro Divorcing". People. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  38. ↑ Carvajal, Edduin (August 9, 2021). "Alfonso Ribeiro's Eldest Daughter Sienna Flaunts Hourglass Figure & Waist-Long Braids in Blue Two-Piece". news.amomama.com.
  39. ↑ "Alfonso Ribeiro ties the knot". CNN. Archived from the original on August 2, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  40. ↑ O'Sullivan, Erin (October 14, 2012). "Fresh Prince Star Alfonso Ribeiro & Angela Unkrich Are Married". Access Hollywood. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  41. ↑ "Exclusive: It's a Boy! Alfonso Ribeiro, Wife Angela Welcome Baby No. 2!". In Touch Weekly. April 30, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  42. ↑ Webber, Stephanie (October 28, 2013). "Alfonso Ribeiro, Wife Angela Unkrich Welcome Son Alfonso Lincoln Jr". US Weekly. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  43. ↑ Vivnetto, Gina (May 14, 2019). "Alfonso Ribeiro and wife Angela welcome baby girl — see the pic". Today. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  44. ↑ "Alfonso Ribeiro wins the Pro/Celebrity race at Grand Prix of Long Beach". Los Angeles Times. April 16, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  45. ↑ "Stars come out in light of day at Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach". IndyCar. April 17, 2016.
  46. ↑ Jayne, Brena (December 26, 2018). "Alfonso Ribeiro Sues Epic Games For Stealing His Moves". Trill Magazine. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  47. ↑ Gregorian, Dareh (December 19, 2018). "'Carlton Dance' suit against 'Fortnite' may have two left feet, experts say". NBC News. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  48. ↑ O'Kane, Caitlin (February 15, 2019). "U.S. Copyright Office says Alfonso Ribeiro can't register his famed "Carlton" dance". CBS News. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  49. ↑ "Alfonso Ribeiro Drops Lawsuit Against 'Fortnite' Makers Over 'Carlton Dance'". The Blast. March 7, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  50. ↑ "Alfonso Ribeiro on Twitter". Twitter. March 13, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  51. ↑ Montgomery, Daniel (November 2, 2017). "'Dancing with the Stars' trio dances will invite back Kelly Monaco, Alfonso Ribeiro, Laurie Hernandez, Corbin Bleu". goldderby.com. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  52. ↑ Brozyna, Emily (November 2, 2017). "'Dancing with the Stars' trio dances will invite back Kelly Monaco, Alfonso Ribeiro, Laurie Hernandez, Corbin Bleu". J-14.com. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
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