Ross Mathews
Ross Mathews (born September 24, 1979)[1] is an American television host and personality. He rose to fame as "Ross the Intern" as a correspondent for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Mathews has appeared on Chelsea Lately, Celebrity Fit Club, The Insider, Celebrity Big Brother as well as his own talk show Hello Ross. Ross is currently an executive producer and judge on RuPaul's Drag Race and co-hosts The Drew Barrymore Show with Drew Barrymore.
Early life
[edit]Raised in Mount Vernon, Washington,[2] Mathews graduated from Mount Vernon High School[3] and graduated from the University of La Verne, in La Verne, California, in 2002. He majored in communications[4] and competed in speech and debate competitions.[5]
Career
[edit]Mathews began as an intern on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in December 2001, he covered movie premieres, the Academy Awards, two Winter Olympic Games, and other events.[6]
Mathews has contributed commentary to the E! networks various 101... specials, and appeared as a weekly panelist on E's late night talk show Chelsea Lately.[7] He appeared on the fifth season of VH1's reality television show, Celebrity Fit Club. During the course of the show, which premiered in April 2007, Mathews lost more than 40 lbs. (18 kg) and helped his team win the grand prize.[8] He was also a guest host on The View on July 17, 2007.[9] Mathews joined the E! Network's red carpet team, filling in for Ryan Seacrest as co-host with Giuliana Rancic for E! Live From the Red Carpet coverage of the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Awards, the 2010 Emmy Awards, the 2011 Golden Globe Awards, and the 2011 Academy Awards. He hosted Hello Ross, an interactive talk show on E! from September 6, 2013, until May 16, 2014.[10]
Mathews joined the panel of judges for RuPaul’s Drag Race beginning in 2015 for Season 7. Since 2022, he has served as an executive producer for the show and won an Emmy in 2023 for Outstanding Reality Competition Program.
Ross has written three books. On May 7, 2013, Mathews released his book Man Up! Tales of My Delusional Self-Confidence.[7] On February 4, 2020 he released Name Drop: The Really Good Celebrity Stories I Usually Only Tell at Happy Hour. In 2025 he released Tío and Tío: The Ring Bearers, co-written with his husband Dr. Wellinthon García-Mathews.
In 2018, Mathews was announced as one of the eleven houseguests competing on the first American edition of Celebrity Big Brother. He finished in 2nd place, winning $50,000, and was voted as America's Favorite Houseguest earning an additional prize of $25,000.[11] He appeared in the second season as part of a Head of Household competition.
Since fall 2020, he has appeared as a co-host on The Drew Barrymore Show.
Personal life
[edit]Mathews is openly gay.[12][13] From 2008 to 2018, he had a relationship with stylist Salvador Camarena.[14][15][16]
On February 23, 2021, Mathews announced his engagement to Wellinthon García, a Long Island educational administrator.[17][18] On May 7, 2022, Mathews and García married at a ceremony in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.[19]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–2013 | The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | Himself | Correspondent (62 episodes) |
| 2007 | Celebrity Fit Club | Contestant | Season 5 (8 episodes) |
| 2008–2011 | Days of Our Lives | Chris | |
| 2012 | Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis | Himself | Guest (1 episode) |
| RuPaul's Drag Race | Himself | Guest Judge (1 episode) | |
| 2015–present | Main Judge | Season 7–present | |
| 2012–2016 | RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars | Himself | Guest Judge (4 episodes) |
| 2018–present | Main Judge | Season 3–present | |
| 2018 | Celebrity Big Brother | Contestant | Season 1, Runner-up (13 episodes) |
| 2019 | Guest | Season 2 (1 episode) | |
| 2020–present | The Drew Barrymore Show | Himself | "Drew's News" |
| 2021 | Adorableness | Co-host | Season 1 |
| 2023 | And Just Like That... | Himself | Episode: "February 14th" |
| 2024 | RuPaul's Drag Race Global All Stars | Guest Judge | Episode: "Everybody Say Love Girl Groups" |
Bibliography
[edit]- Mathews, Ross (2013). Man Up!: Tales of My Delusional Self. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-1455512560.
- Mathews, Ross (2020). Name Drop. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 97-81797101484.
Awards and nominations
[edit]Emmy Awards
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Interactive Media for a Daytime Program | 93rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade | Nominated | |
| 2023 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Reality Competition Program | RuPaul's Drag Race (as producer) | Won | [20] |
| 2024 | Nominated |
Producers Guild of America Awards
[edit]| Year | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Outstanding Producer of Game & Competition Television | RuPaul's Drag Race | Won | |
| 2023 | RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars | Nominated | ||
| 2024 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Won | ||
| 2025 | Nominated |
Miscellaneous awards and honors
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | People's Choice Award | Favorite New Talk Show Host | Hello Ross | Nominated | |
| 2018 | GLAAD Media Award | Davidson/Valentini Award | Himself | Honored |
References
[edit]- ^ "About". Ross Mathews verified Facebook page. Archived from the original on February 11, 2018. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
- ^ Hill, Erin (June 27, 2013). "Ross Mathews: From Farm Town Boy to Hollywood Fixture". Parade. Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
As a kid in Mount Vernon, WA...
- ^ Mathews in Rodriguez, Albert (May 10, 2013). "The out intern - Ross Mathews is living the Hollywood dream". Seattle Gay News. Vol. 41, no. 19. Archived from the original on July 12, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
I graduated high school in Mount Vernon, at Mount Vernon High School, and 30 seconds later I moved to the streets of L.A.
- ^ Evans, Rusty (August 16, 2004). "Alumni Profile: Ross Mathews 2002" (Press release). University of La Verne. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved July 17, 2007.
- ^ Birdsall, Terry (Spring 2002). "Ross, the Intern". La Verne Magazine. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Retrieved July 17, 2007.
Ross was president of the debate team his senior year. He performed individual events for the team, was state champion for two events and was sent to the nationals.
- ^ Tracy E. Gilchrist (June 10, 2008). "This Gay Week in Television: Bea Arthur, Courteney Cox" Archived June 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Gay Wired. "Lest we forget that Jay helped launch the adorable gay intern Ross Mathews' career."
- ^ a b Gilbert, Ted (May 2, 2013). "Why Ross Mathews decided to 'Man Up!'" Archived July 19, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. CNN.
- ^ "How Did Ross Mathews Lose Weight? The Comedian's Weight Loss". thenybanner.com. The New York Banner. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
- ^ "Ross Co-Host on The View pt 1". youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
- ^ Peeples, Jase (April 24, 2013). "Ross Mathews to Host New 'Interactive' Talk Show" Archived October 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. The Advocate.
- ^ Maher, Natalie (February 13, 2018). "Get to Know the 'Celebrity Big Brother' Cast: Mark McGrath, Omarosa & More". www.billboard.com. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
- ^ "Monkey Business: Short Takes". The Kansas City Star. The McClatchy Company. June 23, 2007. p. E6.
- ^ Celizic, Mike. "Super media spectacle more staid than usual". NBC Sports. Archived from the original on January 12, 2010. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
- ^ Celebrity Slimdowns: Losing the Weight. E!. January 2, 2012
- ^ Deeken, Aimee (August 17, 2010). They both announced their break up on Instagram on November 25, 2018."'Chelsea Lately': Ross Mathews Wants a 'Gayby' Like Neil Patrick Harris (VIDEO)" Archived November 12, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. The Huffington Post.
- ^ Jung, Helin (November 29, 2011). "Ross Mathews's Soft Spot: His 'Mutty-Mutt' Dogs" Archived February 15, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. People.
- ^ Mathews, Ross [@helloross] (February 23, 2021). "Fiancé, you stay!" (Tweet) – via Twitter. "... the smartest, funniest and kindest man I've ever met said, 'Yes!' Dr. García, I love you."
- ^ "'Drag Race' judge Ross Mathews engaged to LI educator". Newsday. New York City / Long Island. February 23, 2021.
Wellinthon Garcia, the newly announced fiance of TV personality and 'RuPaul's Drag Race' judge Ross Mathews, is an educator with deep ties to Long Island.
- ^ Helling, Steve (May 7, 2022). "Ross Mathews Marries Fiancé Wellinthon García in Mexico — with Flower Girl Drew Barrymore!". people.com. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
- ^ "Ross Mathews Television Academy". Retrieved June 16, 2025.
External links
[edit]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1979 births
- 21st-century American memoirists
- American gay entertainers
- American gay writers
- American LGBTQ broadcasters
- American LGBTQ comedians
- American male comedians
- American male bloggers
- American bloggers
- American reporters and correspondents
- Comedians from Washington (state)
- Gay comedians
- GLAAD Media Awards winners
- Judges in American reality television series
- LGBTQ people from Washington (state)
- LGBTQ bloggers
- Living people
- Participants in American reality television series
- People from Mount Vernon, Washington
- Primetime Emmy Award winners
- University of La Verne alumni
- Writers from Washington (state)