Wilmer Valderrama’s American Story serves his family and his country

LOS ANGELES – Wilmer Valderrama vowed to “never abandon his family” the night he made his breakthrough playing foreign exchange student Fez on “That ’70s Show.”

“I have been given the opportunity to move us all forward and I will not miss this incredible opportunity. “Every performance I give will be the absolute best anyone has ever seen,” he writes in his memoir, “An American Story: Everyone’s Invited.”

“Everyone’s Invited,” released last month, chronicles his family’s journey as Venezuelan immigrants to the United States and a little boy’s dream to help his family while making his acting dreams a reality.

At 44, Valderrama says he has stayed true to his teenage promise and always felt the need to give his family a “happier life.”

“I grew up in Venezuela, so I had a front row seat to understanding how this all could have been. So I’m just incredibly grateful. “I don’t know if I can ever give up,” said the actor and producer.

Valderrama says he didn’t plan to publish a memoir about his upbringing and career. The story unfolded as he reflected on his work with the United Service Organizations (USO), which provides entertainment to service members away from home.

“I realized, ‘Oh my God, every aspect of my life, kind of married, this thought’ (of service). And, you know, my team was immediately like, ‘Dude, this is a memoir,'” he said.

Released during Hispanic Heritage Month and an election year, Valderrama said the timing was “coincidental.” He wanted to use the memoir to remind the larger Latino community in the United States to embrace their stories and contributions.

“I think our history as a community is so powerful and we need to continue to remember that we belong,” he said.

Throughout the book, Valderrama carefully discusses his close relationships with his ’70s show colleagues and steers clear of discussions of scandal. He does not address scandals surrounding his co-star Danny Masterson, who was found guilty of two counts of rape in 2023 and is serving a 30-year prison sentence. Valderrama also avoids stories that made him the subject of tabloid fascination. These include his high-profile relationships with actors Demi Lovato and Lindsay Lohan.

When asked why he chose not to mention his past relationships, Valderrama replied that he focused on the theme of service when writing this book.

“The book is about my family – my mother and my father’s story. I traveled with the USO for so many years; All of these stories, these brothers and sisters in uniform, somehow taught me so much about who protects freedoms and all that. And that’s what the book is about.”

The only romantic relationship mentioned in the book is with his current fiancée, Amanda Pacheco.

Valderrama and Pacheco both have a daughter together, and the actor hopes that one day his young daughter will no longer have to worry about the lack of Latino representation in Hollywood.

“I certainly hope she appreciates the fight that most of us had to make to actually open the door to make a lot of these things happen,” he said.

He also made his vow to his family to his cultural community: to showcase their achievements to an audience that may not interact with Latinos on a daily basis.

“I hope there are many conversations that can start with the book so that we can remember how close we really are to each other’s interests and how far apart we have become,” Valderrama said.