Carlos Armando Ponce Freyre Jr.[note 1] (born September 4, 1972) is a Puerto Rican actor, musician, model, and television personality. Ponce began his acting career by participating in Spanish language soap operas for Televisa and Telemundo. Ponce continued to expand his acting career by participating in various American television series. He did not limit himself solely to a career in television. Ponce, who is also a singer, is also active in the American movie industry as a character actor. In film, he played Salvadore in Couples Retreat, Matthew Wright in Spy and Rodrigo in Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo. In television, he played Felix Gonzalez in Cristela, Max Duran in Hollywood Heights, as well as voicing Santiago Santos in Maya & Miguel.
Early life
Ponce was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. His parents, Carlos Ponce Sr. and Esther Freyre, emigrated from Cuba after the Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro. After his birth, the family moved to Humacao, where Ponce was raised. As a child, he actively participated in his school's plays and at home he would often put on a show for the family where he would sing the latest tunes. He has a brother name Francisco Ponce who is Vice President of Telemundo Reality Casting. "Carlitos", as he is known in Puerto Rico, started to appear in television commercials at the age of six. He attended high school in Humacao and was a member of the school's drama club.[1][2]
In 1986, the Ponce family moved to Miami, Florida, and Ponce continued to participate in his school's productions at South Miami Senior High. He was named the best student actor of the southern region of the United States.[3]
In 1990, Ponce participated in the Southeastern Theatre Conference and competed for the chance to win a scholarship. He won and enrolled in the New World School of the Artsconservatory. However, the Spanish-language television station Univision offered Ponce the opportunity to host a show called Hablando (Talking). This was his first serious television debut and after his debut he gave up his university studies.[1][2][3]
Career
Acting
After Hablando came to its end, Ponce went to Mexico to visit a friend. While there he visited the Televisa television station. The talent director of the station met Ponce and offered Ponce his first role in a soap opera: Guadalupe, starring Adela Noriega and Eduardo Yáñez. He participated in another soap opera for Televisa, Sentimientos Ajenos, in which he played the main character. Ponce also sang the theme song for the production. He received the "Actor Revelation of 1997 Award" by Eres magazine and named "Best Actor" by TV y Novelas magazine (both are Mexican publications).[1][2][3]
In between productions, Ponce returned to Miami and Univision hired him as the host of a new show, Control. He hosted the show for three years and won an "ACE Award".[1][2][3]
In 2008, Ponce starred as a celebrity judge alongside actress and singer María Conchita Alonso on VH1's reality series ¡Viva Hollywood!, which featured twelve Latino actors competing for the title of "America's Numero Uno Telenovela Star".
In 2009, Ponce starred in the second season of Lipstick Jungle, where he played a character named Rodrigo.[4] He later stated that he accepted the role because it could "benefit" his career.[4] Also that year, he appeared in Couples Retreat as a yoga instructor.
From 2014 to 2015, Ponce co-starred in the ABC comedy Cristela as Felix, the male lead on the show.
In 2020, Carlos appeared in Julie and the Phantoms as the titular character's father, Ray Molina.
In 1998, Emilio Estefan Jr. and Kike Santander signed Ponce to a record contract. His first album was entitled Carlos Ponce, and included three of his own compositions. The album reached the #1 spot in the Latin Billboards for nine weeks in the Hispanic community of the United States. It also reached the #1 spot in Central America and South America. He was awarded a Double Platinum Award for the sales which his album generated.[5][6][7]
On the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks Carlos Ponce reached the number-one spot three times with "Rezo" (I Pray), "Decir Adiós" (Say Good-Bye) and "Escúchame" (Listen to Me).[8]
In 1999, Ponce recorded his second studio album, Todo lo que Soy (Everything that I Am). The World Athletic Games held in Seville, Spain, adopted the song "Amelia" from Ponce's second album as its official theme. That same year, he was contracted by the Walt Disney Studios to sing "Bella Notte" for the animated film Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure. He also appeared in ABC's drama series Once and Again.
After the tragedy of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Ponce joined a group of 100 Latin American singers, who united to pay tribute to the victims by recording "Último Adiós" ("Last Good-Bye"). The proceeds of the recording were donated to families of the victims. That same year Ponce participated in the Televisa production Sin Pecado Concebido, along with Mexican actress Angélica Rivera. In 2002, he recorded his third studio album, Ponce; later that year he signed a contract with Telemundo to host a reality show called Protagonista de la Musica, which became one of the most popular Hispanic programs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.[1][2][3]
Personal life
Ponce married his high school sweetheart, photographer Verónica Rubio, the sister of current U.S. SenatorMarco Rubio.[citation needed] They resided in Miami, Florida, with their four children: Giancarlo (born 1999), Sebastián (born 2001), and twins Savannah and Sienna (born 2002). In 2010, the couple divorced.[9]
From 2010 to 2016, he was in a relationship with Colombian actress Ximena Duque.[10]
In 2018, he began a relationship with Mexican television host Karina Banda. They married in December 2020.[11]
