Visionary Alliance Member

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Wilmer Valderrama

Wilmer Valderrama

Actor
"I’m thrilled to join the National Hispanic Media Coalition for its first ever Visionary Alliance. I know firsthand the power of storytelling and the impact it can have on someone’s life. This Alliance, alongside the NHMC, has a unique opportunity to build an industry of trust, collaboration and authentically diverse storytellers that helps empower underrepresented communities to bring their ideas to the screen."
BIO

Actor, producer and activist Wilmer Valderrama has been making audiences laugh, listen and think for nearly two decades. Perhaps most recognized for his role as exchange student ‘Fez’ on the Emmy-nominated series That 70s Show, the role catapulted him to stardom and garnered numerous Teen Choice Awards.

Valderrama currently stars in the #1 TV drama NCIS on CBS, and it was recently announced that he is developing a live-action “Zorro” series at Disney Branded Television in which he will star and executive produce. The project both marks the return of Zorro to the Disney family as well as a lifelong dream for Valderrama to bring this iconic character to life. On the big screen, he was most recently lent his voice to the hit Academy Award-winning Disney animated film Encanto, which topped the box office and has become a cultural phenomenon. Other accolades awarded to the film include the National Board of Review Award for “Best Animated Film,” BAFTA for “Best Animated Film,” NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding Animated Motion Picture” and Golden Globe for “Best Animated Feature Film” as well as three Academy Award nominations including “Best Animated Feature.”
Other recent animation credits include Valderrama voicing Thurman Sanchez in the Netflix animated film Dog Gone Trouble, which he also executive produced, Gaxton in the Academy Award-nominated Disney film Onward, the first Latino Prince Charming in the animated film Charming for Netflix, and the main character of Disney's hugely popular animated children’s show Handy Manny, which introduced preschoolers to Spanish. Other past credits include appearances in the indie-drama Blast Beat, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, Netflix’s The Ranch, ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s television series From Dusk Till Dawn.

Behind the camera, Valderrama created and produced the MTV series Yo Momma, also serving as the host for all three seasons. He and his production company WV Entertainment recently renewed their first-look deal with CBS TV Studios. The company has multiple projects in development including the family comedy Mexican Beverly Hills about a working-class Mexican-American family that moves to the wealthy and heavily Latinx city of Downey, dark comedy Hipster Death Rattle based on the book by Riche Narvaez, and the WWII drama Patriots From the Barrio based on the book by Dave Gutierrez.

In the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Valderrama was inspired to turn the spotlight on frontline workers after a grocery store encounter and used his platform to give a voice to those being directly impacted by pandemic with his IG Live series “6 Feet Apart.” These conversations have since morphed into his popular podcast with iHeartRadio called “Essential Voices with Wilmer Valderrama.” Produced by WV Entertainment and Clamor, each episode is broken up into two parts - first an intimate conversation with a frontline worker and then a roundtable with activists, thought leaders, and celebrities discussing what each of us can do to help.

Valderrama is active in several philanthropic agencies. Along with America Ferrara and Ryan Piers William, he co-founded HARNESS, a group dedicated to connecting communities through conversation to inspire action and power change. In addition, Valderrama serves on the board of Voto Latino and is co-chair of their artist coalition as well as the spokesperson for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) and founder of their Ready 2 Lead program, which educates and empowers the Latino youth. Valderrama is also deeply involved with our military and was recently named a USO Global Ambassador in support of the organization’s 80th anniversary. He has traveled with the USO a multitude
of times having participated in over 40 shows domestically and internationally. In 2013, Valderrama was honored with an ALMA Award for Outstanding Social Activism.

Born in Miami and raised in Venezuela from 3 to 13, Valderrama is fluent in Spanish and English. His family relocated to Los Angeles, where he currently resides.

National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) is a woman-led 501(c)(3) non-profit civil and human rights organization that was founded to eliminate hate, discrimination, and racism toward the Latino communities.
© 2024 National Hispanic Media Coalition // communications@nhmc.org // o. (626) 792-6462
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