Alfonso Ribeiro facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alfonso Ribeiro
Ribeiro in 2011
Born	Alfonso Lincoln Ribeiro (1971-09-21) September 21, 1971 (age 53) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Actor television host director
Years active	1980–present
Spouse(s)	Robin Stapler ​ ​ (m. 2002; div. 2006)​ Angela Unkrich ​ (m. 2012)​
Children	4

Alfonso Ribeiro (born September 21, 1971) is a well-known American actor, television host, and dancer. Many people know him best for his role as Carlton Banks on the popular TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He also played Alfonso Spears on Silver Spoons and Maxwell Stanton on In the House.

Alfonso Ribeiro is currently the host of ABC's America's Funniest Home Videos. He also hosted the GSN game show Catch 21 and the ABC Family show Spell-Mageddon. Early in his career, he starred in the Broadway musical The Tap Dance Kid. He later won season 19 of Dancing with the Stars with his dance partner Witney Carson. Since 2022, he has been a main host of Dancing with the Stars, first alongside Tyra Banks and then with Julianne Hough.

Alfonso Ribeiro's Early Life

Alfonso Ribeiro was born in New York City, in a neighborhood called Riverdale in the Bronx. His family has roots in Trinidad. His grandfather, Albert Ribeiro, was a famous calypsonian singer known as Lord Hummingbird. Alfonso's aunt was also a dancer on a TV show called Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In in the 1960s and 1970s.

Alfonso Ribeiro's Career Journey

Starting Out in Entertainment

Alfonso Ribeiro started his career when he was just 8 years old. He first became famous in 1983 when he played a main role in the Broadway musical The Tap Dance Kid. He received great reviews for his acting and dancing.

In 1984, Ribeiro appeared as a dancer in a Pepsi commercial with Michael Jackson. That same year, he was cast in the TV series Silver Spoons as Rick Schroder's best friend. After getting this role, Alfonso and his family moved to Los Angeles.

In 1985, Ribeiro wrote a dance instruction book called Alfonso's Breakin' & Poppin' Book. He also released some songs, including "Dance Baby" in 1984. After Silver Spoons ended, Ribeiro took a break from acting to finish high school and go to college at California State University, Los Angeles.

Becoming Carlton Banks

Alfonso Ribeiro's most famous role was playing Carlton Banks on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He was on the show from 1990 to 1996. Carlton was the cousin of Will Smith's main character.

Carlton was well-known for his special dance moves to Tom Jones' song "It's Not Unusual". This dance became very popular and was called "The Carlton." Ribeiro created "The Carlton" dance by combining moves from Eddie Murphy's "white man dance" and Courteney Cox's dance in Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" music video.

Later Acting and Hosting Roles

After The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Ribeiro starred in the sitcom In the House with LL Cool J from 1997 to 1999. He also went to the New York Film Academy in 1999. After that, he started directing episodes for several TV shows, including One on One and K.C. Undercover.

In 2006, Ribeiro competed on the reality show Celebrity Duets, where he won. From 2008 to 2016, he hosted the game show Catch 21 on GSN. In 2013, he made a special appearance on The Graham Norton Show to perform "The Carlton Dance" with Will Smith. He also hosted another game show called Spell-Mageddon.

In 2014, Alfonso Ribeiro joined Dancing with the Stars for season 19. He danced with professional partner Witney Carson. They won the competition on November 25, 2014. After his win, he went on a live tour for the show.

In 2015, Ribeiro became the host of America's Funniest Home Videos, taking over from Tom Bergeron. He also returned to Dancing with the Stars as a guest judge and even filled in as host. In 2018 and 2019, he was a guest judge on the British show Strictly Come Dancing.

Catch 21 returned in 2019, and Ribeiro came back as the host. His former Dancing with the Stars partner, Witney Carson, joined him as co-host. He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, Ribeiro became a co-host for season 31. Since 2023, he has been the main host of the show, with Julianne Hough as co-host.

The '90s with Alfonso Ribeiro Radio Show

On July 6, 2019, Alfonso Ribeiro started a radio show called The '90s with Alfonso Ribeiro. It plays on many radio stations across the country. He co-hosts the show with Daena "DK" Kramer. The show is three hours long each week and celebrates music and culture from the 1990s. Ribeiro and Kramer share their own stories, fun facts, and memories from that decade.

Alfonso Ribeiro's Personal Life

Family Life

Ribeiro with his first wife Robin Stapler

Alfonso Ribeiro was married to Robin Stapler from 2002 to 2006. They have one daughter, born in 2002.

He married Angela Unkrich on October 13, 2012. They live in Los Angeles and have three children, born in 2013, 2015, and 2019.

Racing Hobby

Alfonso Ribeiro enjoys car racing. He has competed in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race several times in Long Beach. He won the overall race in 2015 and won the celebrity class in 1994, 1995, and 2016. He also helped as a radio spotter for racecar driver Bryan Herta. He even sang the national anthem at some car races.

Dance Lawsuit

In December 2018, Alfonso Ribeiro filed a lawsuit against Epic Games. This was because his "Carlton dance" was featured in the popular video game Fortnite. Players could buy the dance for their characters. However, the U.S. Copyright Office did not give him a copyright for his dance. Ribeiro dropped the lawsuit in March 2019.

Alfonso Ribeiro's TV and Movie Roles

Alfonso Ribeiro has appeared in many movies and TV shows.

Movies

• 1986: John Grin's Christmas as Rocky
• 1987: Mighty Pawns as Frank
• 1989: Out on the Edge as Jesse
• 1993: Ticks as Darrel "Panic" Lumnley
• 1996: Kidz in the Wood as Morgan
• 2004: Seek & Hide as Dr. Grone (Short film)
• 2005: Love Wrecked as Bert Hernandez

Television Shows

• 1983–1987: Silver Spoons as Alfonso Spears
• 1990–1996: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as Carlton Banks
• 1995–1999: In the House as Carlton Banks/Dr. Maxwell Stanton
• 1996–1997: Spider-Man: The Animated Series as Randy Robertson (voice)
• 1997: Extreme Ghostbusters as Roland Jackson (voice)
• 2008–2011, 2019–2020, 2023–2024: Catch 21 as Himself/Host
• 2013: Spell-Mageddon as Himself/Host
• 2014–2024: Dancing with the Stars as Himself/Contestant/Host
• 2015–present: America's Funniest Home Videos as Himself/Host
• 2018–2019: Strictly Come Dancing as Himself/Guest Judge
• 2021: Muppets Haunted Mansion as Fred (voice)
• 2021–2022: America's Funniest Home Videos: Animal Edition as Himself/Host

Directing TV Shows

Alfonso Ribeiro has also directed episodes for many TV shows:

• The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1995)
• In the House (1997–1998)
• All of Us (2004–2007)
• One on One (2005–2006)
• Meet the Browns (2009–2010)
• Are We There Yet? (2011–2012)
• Shake It Up (2012–2013)
• K.C. Undercover (2015–2018)

Alfonso Ribeiro's Dancing with the Stars Journey

Alfonso Ribeiro competed on Dancing with the Stars in season 19 with professional dancer Witney Carson. They won the competition on November 25, 2014.

Here are some of their dance scores:

¹ Score given by guest judge Kevin Hart instead of Goodman.

²The American public scored the dance instead of Goodman. Their average score was counted with the other judges.

³For "Partner Switch-Up" week, Ribeiro danced with Cheryl Burke instead of Carson.

⁴Score given by guest judge Jessie J instead of Goodman.

⁵Score given by guest judge Pitbull instead of Goodman.

Images for kids

• 

  Ribeiro in 2011

• 

  Ribeiro with his first wife Robin Stapler

See also

In Spanish: Alfonso Ribeiro para niños