Wilmer Valderrama, a.k.a the beloved hapless Fez on the hit sitcom That 70s Show, has long been a national treasure beloved by fans and viewers the world over.
But it’s not just fans of his TV show that Valderrama has gained over the years. He is also known for having dated a string of Hollywood celebs—from Mandy Moore to Lindsey Lohan to Demi Lovato—charming his way through Hollywood along his search for love.
Image via @wilmervalderrama / IG
Let’s take a look back at Valderrama’s incredible rise to fame and his search for true love along the way.
A Star is Born
Wilmer Valderrama was born Wilmer Eduardo Valderrama on January 30, 1980, in Miami, Florida. His mother, Sobeida Valderrama, hailed from Colombia, and his father, Balbino A. Valderrama, was from Venezuela, and owned a farm equipment rental company.
Image via @wilmervalderrama / IG
From an early age, it was clear that Valderrama was destined to be a star, and that he was on his way to greatness. But no one could have predicted just how big of a star—and a heartthrob—he would one day become.
Early Years
For the young Valderrama, life was a whirl of moving around across different states and countries. Though he was born in Miami, the Valderramas later relocated back to his father’s homeland of Venezuela when the young star-to-be was only three.
They also lived for a while in his mother’s homeland of Colombia, before eventually moving back to the States when he was fourteen.
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Living in this variety of countries and cultures is what inspired Valderrama onto the road to superstardom—in a way you would never expect.
Starting Out
After he had moved back to America and realized that his true passion lay in acting and performing, it was time for the young Valderrama to start pursuing his dreams. Even though he knew he wanted to become a big star, everyone has to start out small somewhere.
Valderrama’s first ever professional acting job was in a Spanish-language commercial for Pacific Bell. He followed this up with performances in well-known classic plays such as A Midsummer Night's Dream and Rumors.
Image by Alex Berliner/BEI/Shutterstock (5121161b)
And this was only the beginning for this talented star-to-be.
Model Student
As Valderrama continued to pursue his dream of acting in a professional capacity, it wasn’t just producers and viewers of TV commercials that noticed his burgeoning talent.
In fact, it was the young student’s drama teacher who realized that he had a real skill for the craft, and encouraged him to get an agent.
Before long, Valderrama was appearing in shows such as the CBS miniseries Four Corners and the Disney Channel’s Omba Mokomba.
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But it was his next role that would truly catapult him to worldwide stardom.
That Mega-Hit Show
When Valderrama was still a senior in high school, he filmed a pilot episode for an offbeat comedy around a group of teens hanging out in the 70s. That show was, of course, Fox’s mega smash hit That '70s Show, and Valderrama was playing the lovable yet hapless foreign exchange student Fez.
For the role, Valderrama wildly exaggerated his accent, and played up to the Latin lover stereotype—with a unique twist.
Screenshot from "That 70's Show"
Valderrama was regarded by many as the show’s breakout character—but no one could have predicted just how successful it would become.
Christina Milian (Rumored)
As Wilmer Valderrama’s star began to rise, so did the tabloids and media’s interest in him. Of course, for a young, talented and handsome actor, many of his fans and the press wanted to know only one thing—who was he dating?
Sure enough, rumors began to spread about Valderrama’s love life behind the scenes. One of the first romantic rumors that flew around him were about a relationship between him and popular singer Christina Milian.
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Many people suspected that the two of them dated for several months while they were in their teens but their dalliance was never confirmed.
Mila Kunis (Rumored)
Throughout the entire run of That ‘70s Show, Wilmer Valderrama’s character Fez had a long-standing and unrequited love for Jackie, played by Mila Kunis. Eventually, Fez’s dreams came true when he and Jackie became an item towards the end of the show.
Screenshot from "That 70's Show"
Their chemistry was so great, that many fans and media outlets whispered that there was more to their relationship behind the scenes. The rumors were never confirmed, but it’s clear the two were very fond of each other.
Jennifer Love Hewitt (Rumored)
Valderrama’s next rumored love affair came in 1999, when he was reportedly spotted stepping out with the I Know What You Did Last Summer and Party of Five star Jennifer Love Hewitt.
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Valderrama even went so far as to speak about her publicly in an interview with Howard Stern, admitting that the two did in fact have a flirt. However, Hewitt did not corroborate with his story, and so we were left none the wiser as to what actually happened between them.
