Carlos Armando Ponce Freyre Jr. (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. Ponce is of Spanish descent via his grandparents.
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 named 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.
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.
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 Arts conservatory. 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. He later stated that he accepted the role because it could "benefit" his career.
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).
In 1999, Ponce recorded his second studio album, Todo lo que Soy (Everything that I Am). The 1999 World Championships in Athletics 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.
From 2010 to 2016, he was in a relationship with Colombian actress Ximena Duque.
In 2018, he began a relationship with Mexican television host Karina Banda. They married in December 2020.
Filmography
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Film roles
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 2001 || Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure || End Title Song || Voice only
|-
| 2005 || Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo || Rodrigo ||
|-
| 2005 || Meet Me in Miami || Luis ||
|-
| 2005 || Complete Guide to Guys || Steve ||
|-
| 2006 || Just My Luck || Antonio ||
|-
| 2009 || Couples Retreat || Salvadore||
|-
| 2011 || Rio || Marcel || Voice only
|-
| 2013 || Free Birds || Narrator / Alejandro || Voice only
|-
| 2014 || The Pirate Fairy || Bonito || Voice only
|-
| 2015 || Spy ||Matthew Wright ||
|-
|2016 || Ice Age: Collision Course ||Mariachi Beaver
|| Voice only
|-
|2023
|Murder Mystery 2
|The pilot
|
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Television roles
|-
! Year !! Title !! Roles !! Notes
|-
| 1993–1994
| Guadalupe
| Willie
|
|-
| 1996–1997
| Sentimientos ajenos
| Renato Aramendia
| Main role; 98 episodes
|-
| 1998
| Beverly Hills, 90210
| Tom Savin
| Episode: "Confession"
|-
| 1998–2006
| 7th Heaven
| Carlos Rivera
| 12 episodes
|-
|2000
|Milagros
|Himself
|Episode 19
|-
| 2001
| Once and Again
| Giancarlo
| Episode: "The Other End of the Telescope"
|-
| 2001
| Sin pecado concebido
| Adrián Martorel Ibáñez
| Main role; 90 episodes
|-
| 2003
| Karen Sisco
| Will
| Episode: "The One That Got Away"
|-
| 2003
| Ángel de la guarda, mi dulce compañía
| Gustavo Almansa
| Main role; 122 episodes
|-
| 2004
| Eve
| Joe
| Episode: "Above Average Joe"
|-
| 2006
| Stranded
| Chief Inspector Raddimus
| Television film
|-
| 2006
| Vanished
| Cured corna
| Television film
|-
| 2006
| Break-in
| Inspector Raddimus
| Television film
|-
| 2007
| Dame chocolate
| Bruce Remington
| Main role; 149 episodes
|-
| 2008
| Lipstick Jungle
| Rodrigo Vega
| 4 episodes
|-
| 2010
| Perro amor
| Antonio "El Perro" Brando
| Main role; 129 episodes
|-
| 2011–2012
| Dos hogares
| Santiago Ballesteros Ortiz / Jesús
| Main role; 145 episodes
|-
| 2012
| Hollywood Heights
| Max Duran
| Series regular; 29 episodes
|-
| 2013
| Arranque de pasión
| Chceco Fernández
| Main role; 6 episodes
|-
| 2013–2014
| Santa Diabla
| Humberto Cano
| Main role; 136 episodes
|-
| 2014–2015
| Cristela
| Felix
| Main role; 22 episodes
|-
| 2016
| Telenovela
| Diego
| Episode: "The Rivals"
|-
| 2016
| Devious Maids
| Benjamin Pacheco
| 6 episodes
|-
| 2016–2017
| Silvana sin lana
| Manuel Gallardo
| Main role; 120 episodes
|-
| 2017
| La Fan
| Luis Alberto Fontán
| 1 episode
|-
| 2017
| Major Crimes
| Emilio Diaz
| 5 episodes
|-
| 2018-2020
| The Boss Baby: Back in Business
| Board Baby Emiliano
| Episode: "As the Diaper Changes"<br>Episode: "Bossa Nova"
|-
| 2019
| Playing with Fire
| Jorge Jaramillo
| Main role; 10 episodes
|-
| 2020
| La Doña
| León Contreras
| Main role
|-
| 2020
| Julie and the Phantoms
| Ray Molina
| Recurring role; 7 episodes
|-
| 2021
| La suerte de Loli
| Armando
| Main cast
|-
| 2021
| Luis Miguel: The Series
| Adult Miguel Alemán
| Season 3
|-
| 2021–present
| Los Lopeggs
| Yema
| Main voice role; Spanish-language
|-
| 2021
| Por amor o por dinero
| Himself
| Host
|-
| 2022–2023
| Amores que engañan
| Jorge<hr />Ricardo
| Episode: "Vientre en alquiler"<hr />Episode: "Durmiendo con un extraño"
|-
| 2023
| Enamorándonos: la isla
| Himself
| Host
|-
| 2025
| Velvet: El nuevo imperio
| Esteban Márquez
|
|}
Audiobooks
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Voice-over work
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 2019 || Harry Potter || All roles || Spanish only
|}
Discography
- 2012: Me Llevas
- 2010: Perro Amor
- 2005: Celebrando 15 Años Con
- 2003: La Historia
- 2002: Ponce
- 1999: Todo lo Que Soy
- 1998: Carlos Ponce
Soundtrack
- 2011: "Rendirme En Tu Amor" feat. Anahí (telenovela Dos Hogares)
- 2013: "Santa Diabla" feat. Aaron Diaz (telenovela Santa Diabla)
Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart chronology
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Single
! Peak