Who is Valente Rodriguez?
A director, producer, and an actor with over 65 credits to his name, who rose to prominence for his role as Ernie in the series “George Lopez”, Valente Rodriguez was born under the zodiac sign of Aquarius on 14 February 1961, in Edcouch, Texas USA. He holds American nationality, and comes from a family of Mexican descent thus his ethnicity is Latino.
Early life and education
Valente was raised in Edcouch by his parents, and being secretive when it comes to his personal matters, he hasn’t disclosed their names, and also he hasn’t spoken about having any siblings, thus it’s assumed that he was raised an only child.
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In one of his interviews, Valente spoke about his childhood, saying that being raised in Edcouch, the area of the Rio Grande Valley was hard for him. His parents were farm workers, and he remembered that he also worked on farms picking tomatoes, cotton, and watermelons. From an early age, he dreamed about becoming an actor, and having a better life.
Valente attended a local high school, and upon matriculating in 1979, enrolled at the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA), from which he graduated with a BA degree in 1982.
He was a valued member of the university’s theatre, and knowing about his dream, the theatre department head of the UTPA, Marian Monta, gave Valente $2,000 to help him get to Los Angeles, California to try his luck in the movie industry. There, he joined the Latino Theatre Lab and made appearances in several theatre plays, which helped him to provide for himself while he was auditioning, waiting for his chance in Hollywood.
Roles in movies
Valente made his acting debut portraying Chuey in the 1988 musical romance “Salsa”, followed by minor roles in “Impulse”, “Twenty Bucks”, and “Blood In, Blood Out” in 1993.
In the following years, Valente was seen in “Mr. Jones”, “Huck and the King of Hearts”, and “My Family” before 1996 when he was cast to play Jesus Rodriguez in “Ed”, a sports drama starring Matt LeBlanc, Gene Ross, and Jayne Brook.
In the science-fiction action drama “Volcano” starring Tommy Lee Jones, Valente had a minor role as Train Driver, followed by appearances in “No Salida”, “Suckers”, and “Deep Blue Sea”, before he was cast to play Donald in the Oscar-awarded biographic drama “Erin Brockovich”, alongside Julia Roberts, David Brisbin and Albert Finney; the movie had 59 award nominations, and won 33, including the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Julia Roberts) in 2001.
The early 2000s saw Valente in “The Gristle”, “Never Trust a Serial Killer”, and “500 Days of Summer”, before he was cast to play Javier in “The Ugly Truth”, followed by his role as Reynaldo in the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)-awarded romantic comedy drama “It’s Complicated”, in 2009.
In the following years, Valente had numerous support roles in movies, before he was cast to play one of his most notable roles as Principal Camillo in “McFarland, USA”, also starring Kevin Costner and Maria Bello, in 2015, followed by his roles in “Endgame”, “A Dog and Pony Show”, and “Instant Family” in 2018.
Valente’s most recent movie roles were in “Bullet Ride” in 2020, and then in the following year he was seen as Swapmeet in “Welcome to Our World” and as Guillermo Benavides in “Proof Sheet”.
Roles in series
After making his first appearance on television portraying Fred in the series “The Golden Girls” in 1988, Valente was seen in “Falcon Crest”, “Babes” and “Mad About You”, before he was cast to play Mr. Pedroza in an episode of the popular ‘90s series “Beverly Hills, 90210”, and then, in 1997, he made an appearance as Mr. Trajillo in an episode of the series “ER”.
In the following years, Valente had minor roles in numerous series, including “Dharma & Greg”, “The X-Files”, “Sabrina the Teenage Wirch”, and “Yes, Dear” before 2002, when he was cast to play his most significant television role as Ernie in the Primetime Emmy-awarded comedy drama “George Lopez”, which broadcast until 2007.
In 2010, Valente was seen in an episode or two of the series “Shameless”, “Wizards of Waverly Place” and “The Mentalist”, before he portrayed Cesar in “Happily Divorced” alongside Fran Drescher and John Michael Higgins, followed by his role as Carlos Gonzales in “Murphy Brown” in 2018.
Valente then portrayed Principal Gutierrez in “High School Musical: The Musical-The Series” until 2020, when he was seen as Manny in “Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!” alongside Jamie Foxx, Porscha Coleman and Kyla-Drew, his most recent television role.
Love life and relationships
Valente hasn’t been the subject of any rumors and controversies concerning his love life, however, he prefers to keep his private life away from the media’s attention.
He hasn’t spoken about his relationships, and looking through his social media accounts also gives no clue or indication of his relationship status, and even in his rare interviews, he doesn’t talk about his private and love life.
As of March 2022, it is assumed that Valente is single, he hasn’t been married or engaged, and doesn’t have children.
Age, height, and net worth
Valente’s age is 61, he has brown hair and brown eyes, and speaking about his looks, being known as a chubby Ernie from “George Lopez”, Valente surprised his fans with his weight loss when he was seen in “Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!”, and started some rumors saying that he’s sick as he’d lost so much weight. However, he is perfectly healthy, didn’t use any surgery for his weight loss, but did start exercising and eating healthier. According to sources, he weighed around 187lbs (85kgs), and was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, which made him look obese. He lost around 33lbs (15kgs), and now weighs around 132lbs (60kgs), and it seems that he’s satisfied with his look.
As of March 2022, Valente’s net worth has been estimated at over $3 million.
