Alfonso Ribeiro is currently a co-host on the hit show Dancing with the Stars, however, the TV star has had a successful decades-long career that has earned him a massive bank statement. He started his career off by portraying the character of Alfonso Spears in the TV show Silver Spoons in 1982. A year later, he made his Broadway debut in the show The Tap Dance Kid. It was through that performance that he caught Michael Jackson's attention.
The pop star helped get Alfonso a dancing role in Michael's commercial for Pepsi in 1984. The star later graduated from Cal State University having earned a Theater Arts education. Alfonso became a household name in 1990 thanks to portraying Carlton Banks in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which starred Will Smith. He showed off his dance skills on the show and even popularized one of his signature dance moves, "The Carlton," when he grooved along to the song, "It's Not Unusual."
© Getty ImagesThe actor won Fox's Celebrity Duets in 2006. In 2014, he won the 19th season of Dancing with the Stars, alongside his partner Witney Carson. He's also directed shows such as In The House, Shake It Up, Are We There Yet?, The Wannabes, Meet The Browns, Cuts, Eve, One on One and All of Us. In 2023, he went on to become the TV host of America's Funniest Videos, and he succeeded Tom Bergeron.
© Getty ImagesAlfonso's across-the-board involvement in the entertainment industry for thirty years has earned him a net worth of four million dollars, per Celebrity Net Worth. Although Alfonso enjoys his current hosting gigs on America's Funniest Videos and Dancing with the Stars, he recalled that his breakthrough role in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air had a negative impact on his acting career.
© Getty ImagesIn 2024, he revealed to Closer Weekly: "Playing Carlton on Fresh Prince became a sacrifice. I used to always say doing Carlton was the greatest and worst thing that ever happened to me. It was one of the greatest roles that I ever was fortunate enough to play, but it was also the role that stopped me from acting again because people couldn't see me as anything else. The sacrifice was not having an acting career anymore."
© Getty ImagesAs for whether or not Alfonso would ever return to acting, he remains open to the idea. He shared: "I'm enjoying being a host and am very happy with it. But, yes, I would go back to acting if it was exactly the right thing." However, when he thinks back on his career, he expressed: "My happiest moments, career-wise, are winning Dancing With the Stars and now becoming host of Dancing With the Stars."
He added: "And after winning Dancing With the Stars, I got the opportunity to do the show that I always wanted to do — America’s Funniest Home Videos." He added: "Julianne Hough and I have incredible chemistry together for the show. We really work well together. I'm truly enjoying everything I'm doing."
