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Alfonso Lincoln Ribeiro (born September 21, 1971, in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City) is an American actor, television host, and director of Trinidadian descent. He is best known for playing Carlton Banks on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990-1996) and for his long run as host of America's Funniest Home Videos (2015-present). In animation, he voiced Roland Jackson on Extreme Ghostbusters (1997).
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Ribeiro was born into a family with deep roots in Trinidadian performance culture. His paternal grandfather, Albert Ribeiro, was a professional calypsonian who performed as Lord Hummingbird, and his aunt was a dancer on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In during the 1960s and 1970s.1
He began performing at age 8, appearing on the PBS children's program Oye Ollie. He later graduated from California State University, Los Angeles, and completed studies at the New York Film Academy in 1999.1
Ribeiro's breakthrough came in 1983 when, at age 11, he originated the leading role in the Broadway musical The Tap Dance Kid, earning an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for his performance. His stage work brought him to national attention, and in 1984 pop star Michael Jackson cast him in a Pepsi television commercial.1
That same period produced one of the more distinctive early-1980s pop-culture artifacts connected to Ribeiro: in 1985 he released a 99-page instructional dance book, Alfonso's Breakin' & Poppin' Book, via Telmak Teleproductions. It taught young readers moves including the Moonwalk, King Tut, and the Centipede, and was sold as a $19.99 bundle that also included a poster, a breakin' board, and a double album called "Rap Attack."
In 1984, Ribeiro joined the cast of the NBC sitcom Silver Spoons, playing Alfonso Spears, the best friend of the main character. Despite receiving little of the promotional attention directed at lead Ricky Schroder, Ribeiro made a strong impression on the show's audience and has been widely credited as a standout presence across the run (1984-1987).
His signature role came in 1990 when he was cast as Carlton Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, co-starring with Will Smith. Carlton's ultra-preppy affect and his irrepressible signature dance move, known simply as "The Carlton," became one of the most recognized running gags of the decade. Ribeiro won NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in both 1995 and 1997 for the role.1 The series ran six seasons on NBC, concluding in 1996.
After Fresh Prince, Ribeiro starred alongside LL Cool J in the UPN sitcom In the House (1996-1999). He also appeared in the 1993 horror film Ticks, playing a character called Panic, and made a cameo as himself in an episode of Robot Chicken. He later hosted the Game Show Network game show Catch 21, a blackjack-themed trivia program, through multiple seasons beginning around 2008.
He has also directed numerous television episodes across his career.1
In 2014, Ribeiro competed in Season 19 of Dancing with the Stars (ABC) and won the competition with professional partner Witney Carson. He subsequently became a regular part of the show's hosting team, serving as co-host alongside Julianne Hough as of 2026.1
In 2015, Ribeiro succeeded Tom Bergeron as the host of America's Funniest Home Videos (ABC), a role he continues to hold as of 2026.1
Ribeiro provided the voice of Roland Jackson in the animated series Extreme Ghostbusters, which aired in 1997. Roland is one of the four new Ghostbusters recruited by Egon Spengler in the series, the team's technical expert and the operator of the updated Ecto-1. Because Ribeiro and fellow cast member Jason Marsden were both working on sitcoms during daytime production hours, the Extreme Ghostbusters voice cast recorded their sessions in the evenings.
Ribeiro was married to Robin Stapler from 2002 to 2006; they have one daughter together. He married Angela Unkrich on October 13, 2012, and they have three children, born in 2013, 2015, and 2019.1
In 1995-96 and again in 1998, Ribeiro participated in the Dodge Neon Celebrity Challenge, racing Dodge Neons at events across the country.
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
