CARLOS PONCE BIOGRAPHY
ET Personality

A multi-talented Latin singer, songwriter, actor, producer and host, Carlos Ponce joined ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT in 2003 for his first season as correspondent on the #1 syndicated entertainment newsmagazine in the world.

Mr. Ponce is an award-winning recording artist who has had three #1 singles on Billboard’s Hot Latin tracks and whose debut album “Carlos Ponce” went double-platinum after its release in 1998. The release of “Carlos Ponce” along with two other albums garnered him the Billboard “Best Pop Album, New Artist” award among many others in the Latin music industry. In addition he was named “Best New Artist” by ERES magazine, “Revelation of the Year, Pop Ballad” and “Best Video, Pop Ballad” by Premios Tu Musica magazine in Puerto Rico, “Male Figure of the Year” at the annual ACE awards and “Best International New Artist” by TVyNOVELAS magazine. This year, EMI Latin released “La Historia,” a collection of Mr. Ponce’s greatest hits from his prior CD’s.

Mr. Ponce is well known to American TV audiences, having guest starred on popular shows such as “Beverly Hills 90210,” “7th Heaven, “Once and Again” and “Karen Sisco.” He also hosted the Spanish language broadcast of the “Miss Universe” pageant for Telemundo which delivered the highest ratings for a TV special in 2003.

On film Mr. Ponce will appear in a dual role opposite Salma Hayek in the animated feature film, “Sian Ka’an” scheduled for release in 2005. In addition, he has a cameo as a famous Lothario in the upcoming Rob Schneider film, “Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo,” which will also be released in 2005. Also for the big screen, Mr. Ponce has had roles in the hit comedy “Chasing Papi” and the independent film “My Gardener.” Last year, Mr. Ponce recorded a duet with Joy Enriquez, “Bella Note” for the Walt Disney Classic, “Lady and the Tramp II, Scamp’s Adventure,” in both English and Spanish.

Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, Mr. Ponce first appeared in commercials in his homeland at the age of six and later studied musical theater at the Miami-based conservatory, New World School of the Arts. During high school, he made his debut as a television host on the morning program “Hablando” for the Univision Television Network and then began hosting the Spanish–language magazine show “Control,” which gained him an ACE award for “Best Host” as well as two Emmy’s for his work as a producer and host.

Mr. Ponce also hosted Telemundo’s hit reality show, “Protagonistas de La Musica,” and The Hispanic Heritage Awards, which aired in 2002 on NBC. Recently, he emceed a ceremony honoring Hispanic Heritage Month held by President George W. Bush at the White House. Last year, he also hosted Billboard’s first Latin Music Awards and appeared in a dual ad campaign for Pepsi/Doritos. In addition to his hosting roles, he has graced the pages of more than 100 popular entertainment magazines such as Vogue Hombre, a special annual edition of Vogue en Espanol, and the cover of People en Espanol’s 25 Bellezas (Most Beautiful People) issue, making him the only artist to be featured four times in this magazine.

In 2002, Mr. Ponce served as the official spokesperson for the Nokia cell phone campaign in North and Latin America, which featured his song “Llevame Contigo” (Take Me With You) in the promotional spots. He also created a song specifically for the Mervyn’s retail store’s Christmas campaign, as well as produced a song for Telemundo’s prime time telenovels, “La Venganza.” In addition, Mr. Ponce represents the first and only Latino to participate in the “Got Milk?“ radio campaign.

A tireless advocate for children and the underprivileged, Mr. Ponce has volunteered his time, along with 100 of the best known Latin artists, to record the song “El Ultimo Adios” (“The Last Goodbye”), whose proceeds benefited the families of the victims of the September 11th tragedy. He has also lent his image to the HBO Latino, AOL and People en Espanol for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund campaign which is aimed at motivating Hispanic youth to pursue higher education. Most recently, Mr. Ponce has been aggressively campaigning and working with “Amigos Together for Kids,” an organization whose primary goal is to respond to the diverse needs of South Florida’s abused, abandoned, neglected and less fortunate children.

Currently in its 24th season, ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT is the #1 syndicated entertainment newsmagazine in the world. Produced and distributed by Paramount Domestic Television, ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT is taped in Hollywood, California. Bureaus are located in New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., London and Tokyo. Linda Bell Blue is executive producer. Mary Hart is anchor; Mark Steines is anchor. Jann Carl is primary substitute anchor and weekend anchor; Kevin Frazier is weekend anchor. Leonard Maltin is film historian/correspondent. Paula Abdul, Steven Cojocaru and Maria Menounos are correspondents. Carlos Ponce is an ET Personality.

Paramount Worldwide Television Distribution is part of the Viacom Entertainment Group, a unit of Viacom Inc.

PRESS CONTACTS:

Kim Wilder-Lee                                Manfred Westphal
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT           Paramount Domestic Television
(323) 956-4953                                 (323) 956-8266
Kim_Wilder-Lee@Paramount.com    Manfred_Westphal@Paramount.com