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Carlos Ponce Profile |
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Birth Date: September 4, 1972
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Birth Place: Santurce, Puerto Rico
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Birth Name: Carlos Ponce Freyre
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Height: 6'1"
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Biography |
Carlos Augusto Ponce a.k.a. "Carlos Ponce" (September 4,
1972) born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, is an actor, singer,
composer and correspondent of Entertainment Tonight.
His parents, Carlos Ponce, Sr. and Esther Freyre, emigrated
from Cuba after the communist revolution and he was born in
Santurce, Puerto Rico. After his birth, the family moved to
Humacao where Ponce was raised. As a child, he would
actively participate 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. "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.
In 1986, the Ponce family moved to Miami, Florida and Ponce
continued to participate in his school's productions. He was
named the best student actor of the southern region of the
United States.
In 1990, Ponce participated in the South eastern Theater
Conference and competed for the chance to win a scholarship.
He won and enrolled in the New World of the Arts
Conservatory school of the University of Miami. 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.
After the show came to its end, Ponce went to Mexico to
visit a friend. Whilst there he visited the Televisa
television station. The talent director of the station met
Ponce and was very impressed with him. He offered Ponce a
role in the soap opera "Guadalupe". Later he also
participated in another soap opera for Televisa entitled "Sentimientos
Ajeno", 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
entertainment publications).
In between productions, Ponce returned to Miami and
Univision hired him as the host of a new show to be called
"Control". He hosted the show for three years and won an
"ACE Award" for his effort.
In 1998, Emilio Estefan 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.
In 1999, Ponce received many awards, amongst them:
- "Best Pop Album" from Billboard magazine,
- "Artist Revelation" from Premios Lo Nuestro and
- "Pop Ballad Revelation of the Year" from Premios Tu Musica
de Puerto Rico.
During this period he also made his debut in American
television with his participation in the T.V. series
"Beverly Hills, 90210" and "7th Heaven". He also made guest
appearances in "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" and in
"Donny & Marie".
In 2000, Ponce recorded his second album titled "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 vocalize the song
"Bella Notte" for the animated film "Lady and the Tramp II:
Scamp's Adventure". He also participated in ABC's melodrama
"Once and Again".
After the tragedy of September 11, 2001, Ponce joined a
group of 100 Latin American singers, who united to pay
tribute to the victims by recording "Ultimo Adios" (Last
Good-Bye). The proceeds of the recording was donated to the
families of the victims.
In 2002, he recorded his third album, "Ponce" and that same
year Ponce was contracted 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.
In 2003, Ponce played himself in the movie "Chasing Papi"
alongside fellow Puerto Ricans Roselyn Sanchez, Lisa Vidal,
Barbara Bermudo and Walter Mercado. After this experience,
he left for New Zealand, where he participated in the
independent film "Gardner", written and directed by Iren
Koster. That same year, Ponce joined Entertainment Tonight
as a correspondent. Entertainment Tonight is considered to
be the #1 syndicated entertainment newsmagazine in the
world. Ponce also hosted An Entertainment Tonight Event —
Celebrity Weddings Unveiled, a CBS primetime special.
In 2006, Ponce participated in the controversial recording
of the Spanish-language version of the The Star-Spangled
Banner, entitled "Nuestro Himno", alongside Wyclef Jean,
Gloria Trevi and Olga Tanon. |
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Other Information |
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Sons: Giancarlo (b. 1999), Sebastián Joel (b. 2001) Twin
daughters: Siena Natasha and Savanna Ala (b. 2002) (adopted
from Russia in 2003) |
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