Actor Cristian de la Fuente was born March 10, 1974 in Santiago, Chile.  He took up civil engineering at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.  It was during his sophomore year in college that he got discovered by a talent agent.  He started playing small roles until he became a lead star on the primetime shows Eclipse de Luna and La Tia de Carlos.  He was also proclaimed Chile's Next Super Teen.

In 1998, he signed a contract with Sony and Telemundo for Reyes y Rey, a drama series remake of Starsky and Hutch.  De la Fuente was eventually introduced to the international scene and made regular appearances on CSI: Miami.  His other notable TV appearances were on Pensacola: Wings of Gold, Family Law and Ugly Betty.  In 2001, he starred in an action film directed by Renny Harlin, Driven.  He also played Father Rodrigo in the horror film Vampires: Los Muertos.  De la Fuente was the lead actor for the 2002 independent film Minimal Knowledge. The film, which was written and directed by Gregory Corrado, focused on a successful homicide detective who became disillusioned with God, family and life due to the nature of his work.  He met a woman who claimed she was resurrected and through the lessons she taught him, he got the chance to re-examine his beliefs.  Minimal Knowledge has won seven international film awards, among them is his Best Male Actor Award from the Ajijic International Film Festival.

De La Fuente is a licensed pilot and a lieutenant officer in Chile's Air Force Reserve.  He tied the knot with fellow Chilean actress Angelica Castro on January 5, 2002.

Cristian De La Fuente is a celebrity contestant on season 6 of ABC's reality series Dancing with the Stars, a program which features the partnerships of celebrities and professional ballroom dancers as they compete in weekly elimination rounds until a winning duo is declared.  He is paired with professional dancer Cheryl Burke.



(Photo courtesy of ABC)