Gabriel Iglesias

Iglesias[2] was born July 15, 1976,[3] in San Diego, California,[4] to Esther P. Mendez and Jesús Iglesias.[5] His mother Esther raised him as a single mother.[6] He is of Mexican heritage. He grew up in Riverside, Corona, Santa Ana, Baldwin Park, and Compton before settling in Section 8 low-income housing in Long Beach, where Iglesias spent most of his youth.[4][6]

Iglesias worked for a cell phone company in Los Angeles and in 1997 went into comedy full-time, though it resulted in him being evicted from his home and losing his car.[6][7]

Iglesias often references his weight in his comedy, often saying, "Oh, I'm not fat, I'm fluffy", elaborating that there were five levels of fatness, "Big", "Healthy", "Husky", "Fluffy", and "DAMN!!!"[7] In 2009 he added a sixth level, "Oh hell, no."[8]

In 2000, he appeared in the sixth season of the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series All That, co-starring with Amanda Bynes and Nick Cannon.[7]

Iglesias was a contestant on the fourth season of reality TV series Last Comic Standing in 2006, surviving elimination to become one of the final eight comics. He was disqualified at that point for having used a smuggled BlackBerry to communicate with family and friends, which violated the rules of the show.[7][9]

In 2007, Iglesias voiced an entire Mexican family in "Padre de Familia", a sixth season episode of the Fox TV animated comedy Family Guy. That same year, he began voicing a recurring set of identical twin characters on The Emperor's New School, a Disney animated series that he describes as his favorite voice work.[7]

Iglesias in November 2010

In 2011, Comedy Central debuted Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand Up Revolution, a stand-up series that Iglesias produced and hosted, running for three seasons before ending in 2014.

Iglesias hosted/co-hosted six episodes of Equals Three, and played a strip club DJ and drug dealer in the 2012 film Magic Mike.

Iglesias voiced Ned and Zed in the 2013 DisneyToon Studios film, Planes.[10] He also voiced characters in the animated films The Nut Job (2014)[11][12] and El Americano: The Movie (2016).[10]

Iglesias is featured in the reality series Fluffy Breaks Even, which premiered on Fuse on October 1, 2015.[13] The show was renamed Fluffy's Food Adventures upon its third season renewal in January 2017.[14] From 2019 to 2020, he played Gabe Iglesias, in Mr. Iglesias, a Netflix original series about a teacher at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. In 2021, he voiced the character of Speedy Gonzales in the film Space Jam: A New Legacy and Picchu in Maya and the Three.

In 2022, Iglesias was the first comedian to sell out Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The concert was released to Netflix on October 18, 2022, as Stadium Fluffy.[15]

Iglesias' comedy influences are Paul Rodriguez, Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams, and Bill Cosby.[16] He is known for his trademark Hawaiian shirts.[17]

Regarding how novice comedians can widen their fan base, Iglesias stated in a January 2016 interview:[18]

In the beginning, work as clean as you possibly can and stay away from topics that could be controversial or offensive. For example, don't talk about politics, don't talk about religion. Stay away from sports. Talk about things that are relatable to everyone. The more relatability you have, the bigger the fan base you're going to have.[18]

On February 10, 2012, Iglesias was presented with several awards by the city of El Paso, Texas, including the key to the city and the Beacon of H.O.P.E Award from the nonprofit organization Operation H.O.P.E.[19]

In 2010, Iglesias lived in Whittier, California.[20] He was in a long-term relationship with Claudia Valdez, with whom he has a stepson named Frankie.[21][22] According to a June 2020 People article, he separated from Valdez in 2017, which led him to cancel some performances, and to quit drinking for two years. Despite the breakup, he still maintains a close relationship with Frankie, whom he helped raise.[21]

In The Fluffy Movie, Iglesias describes how at his heaviest, which he states was 445 pounds (202 kilograms), he was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes, and with his blood sugar spiking to over 300 mg/dl (16.6 mmol/L) regularly, was given two years to live by his doctor. He said the shock of being told he had two years to live prompted him to reevaluate how he took care of himself and explained that he decided to lose weight in order to ensure his continued presence in the lives of his family. Iglesias described the struggle to incorporate a healthier lifestyle, relating how he was told by a specialist that his heavy touring schedule precluded him from being a candidate for bariatric surgery, and how he resorted instead to weight-lifting, Diamond Dallas Page Yoga, and a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet, which helped him shed over 100 pounds (45 kilograms). Iglesias has also struggled with depression and alcoholism, which he attributes partly to burnout from his heavy touring schedule.[22]

On July 15, 2021, on his 45th birthday, Iglesias tested positive for COVID-19, and cancelled his remaining shows at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts as well as the taping of his upcoming comedy special.[23][3]

• Hot and Fluffy (2008) Image Entertainment
• I'm Not Fat, I'm Fluffy (2009)
• We Luv Fluffy (2009)
• Aloha Fluffy (2013) Comedy Central
• I'm Sorry For What I Said While I Was Hungry (2016) Netflix
• One Show Fits All (2019) Netflix
• Stadium Fluffy (2022) Netflix

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• Official website
• Gabriel Iglesias at IMDb