American comedian and actor Carlos Mencia was born Ned Arnel Mencia on October 22, 1967, in San Pedro, Sula, Honduras. Carlos and his family moved the United States when he was a few months old and because he was the 17th of 18 children, his aunt and uncle raised him. He attended California State University, where he majored in Electrical Engineering, but he left early to pursue a career in comedy. After some successes at “The Laugh Factory,” he landed appearances on the television shows “The Arsenio Hall Show” and “Buscando Estrellas” where he was named “International Comedy Grand Champion.” In March 2005 Carlos was given his own show, “The Mind Of Mencia,” on Comedy Central, where he focuses on race, sexual orientation, politics, religion, class and society. Besides his comedy show, Carlos has lent his voice to the animated shows “The Proud Family” and “Drawn Together” and also stars in the Farrelly Brothers film “The Heartbreak Kid.” He also is a frequent guest on the XM Satellite radio show “Opie and Anthony,” and in his free time, Carlos enjoys spending time with friends and family.
When comic-cum-actor Carlos Mencia arrived on the scene in the late ’90s, initially as the host of the series Funny Is Funny!, he instantly (and justly) attained a reputation as one of the most brutally, unabashedly honest, and scathing contemporary comics — one unafraid to injure, insult or offend, and one for whom no topic was taboo. An entertainer of Mexican-Honduran heritage, raised in the barrios of East Los Angeles with 17 brothers and sisters, Mencia projected a lightning-fast wit and a heightened social consciousness that he consistently interpolated into his material, rendering it intelligent and thoughtful. Early projects consisted predominantly of filmed standup material, as when Mencia (alongside fellow Latino comics Freddy Soto and Pablo Francisco) headlined the standup concert film The Three Amigos Uncensored! (2001), or when Mencia landed his own cable comedy special, the aptly titled Carlos Mencia: Not for the Easily Offended! (2005).
In 2005, the Comedy Central network offered the rising Latino star his own series, Mind of Mencia — a combination sketch comedy/standup review essentially run by the comedian, with such special guest stars as the late Peter Boyle and the rapper Method Man. It premiered to sensational ratings. In 2007, Mencia tackled roles in both Bob Saget’s March of the Penguins parody, the direct-to-video Farce of the Penguins, and in the Farrelly Brothers remake The Heartbreak Kid, starring Ben Stiller.