• Karina Banda is a Mexican journalist and TV personality born on 21st August 1988.
• She graduated from the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism in 2010 and has since won six Daytime Emmy Awards.
• She is married to Carlos Ponce, a Puerto Rican actor and model, and has no children.
• Karina is passionate about travelling, fashion, and Hollywood movies.
• She has an estimated net worth of more than $1 million.
Contents
Who is Karina Banda?
Karina was born in Mexico on 21 August 1988 – her zodiac sign is Leo, and she holds Mexican nationality. She’s a journalist and TV personality, but she’s probably known best for being the wife of famous Puerto Rican actor and model Carlos Armando Ponce Freyre Jr.
Early life and education
Karina was raised in Mexico by her parents, about whom little is known because she respects their privacy, but it’s believed that her father was a lawyer, and her mother a housewife. Because she hasn’t mentioned having any siblings, most of her fans believe her to be an only child.
Karina grew up being interested in numerous activities, and played various sports while attending a local high school. She was also into acting during her teenage years, appearing in various plays performed at her high school.
She became interested in journalism about the age of 16, after she began watching various news shows with her father;
Upon matriculating in 2006, she enrolled at Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism in 2010.
Karina’s career
Karina began working as a reporter straight out of college, and started attracting attention in 2016, when chosen to serve as backstage hostess for the TV special “Balón de Oro de la Liga MX 2016”, and she presented show in 2017 and ‘18.
What made her more popular in Mexico was becoming the host of the 2018 family adventure show “Republica Mundialista Russia”; it also starred Danilo Carrera and Montserrat Oliver, and aired 29 episodes before being cancelled.
For a couple of years now, Karina has been the host of the family action adventure show “El Gordo y la Flaca”, and for her performance, has won six Daytime Emmy Awards.
A couple of Karina’s other works have been hosting the 2018 sports show “Los 10 Mejores” and the 2019 TV special “El Grito de Mexico”.
Other credits
Karina’s also a bit of an actress, having portrayed the lead character Kate in the 2011 short musical film “Fracturas del Corazon”, directed by Leonardo Leon, and which also starred Rebecca Berens and Adam Boggs.
YouTube channel
Karina launched her self-titled YouTube channel on 24 January 2013, and it’s today subscribed to by more than 11,000 people, while it numbers close to 150,000 views of all her videos combined; most of these feature Karina teaching her fans about proper skin and hair care, and we’re going to mention three of the most popular amongst these, which have helped her attract many subscribers.
Her #1 video “Tutorial Maquillaje Natural |” has been watched close to 50,000 times since 11 March 2021, and features Karina showing her fans various natural cosmetic products.
Her second most popular video “Bienvenidos | Trailer” has been viewed nearly 15,000 times since 11 March 2021, and serves as an introduction to her YouTube channel.
Karina’s third most watched video – “Vas a AMAR Este Aparato Para Ondas en el Cabello” – has been viewed over 10,000 times since 9 April 2021, and features her reviewing a hair waver.
Love life and husband
Karina prefers to keep the details of her love life to herself, but it’s still widely known that she has married twice.
She exchanged vows with her first husband, American helicopter pilot Douglass Rigg in 2015, in a private ceremony attended by only the closest of their friends and family members; however, the two divorced in the following year.
Karina then began dating Carlos Ponce, but they kept this hidden until revealing in the summer of 2018 that they were in a relationship; the two married in December 2020. Carlos was also married once prior to meeting Karina: he exchanged vows with his high school sweetheart Veronica Rubio in 1996, and she gave birth to their four children in the following decade, but they divorced in 2010. Carlos was also in a relationship with Ximena Dugue, a Colombian model and actress, between 2010 and 2016.
As of May 2022, Karina’s married to Carlos Ponce, and doesn’t have children.
Hobbies and other interests
Karina’s quite active on Instagram and apparently enjoys the attention which she’s receiving from her close to 500,000 followers; she’s uploaded nearly 2,500 pictures onto the network, the majority of which feature her spending time with her family and friends.
She’s passionate about travelling, and has been to a couple of US states, mostly for work but also for pleasure, and she and Carlos have also vacationed in a couple of European countries, including Italy and France.
Karina’s into fashion, and is trying to keep up with all of the latest fashion trends; she often uploads pictures of her clothes onto her Instagram account.
She’s a fan of Hollywood movies – her favorite actor and actress are Leonardo DiCaprio and Emma Watson, while a couple of her favorite movies include “Titanic”, “Inception” and “Catch Me If You Can”.
Age, height and net worth
Karina’s age is 33. She has long brown hair and brown eyes, her height is 5ft 6ins (1.65m) and she weighs around 120lbs (55kgs).
As of May 2022, her net worth has been estimated at more than $1 million, while her husband Carlos’ net worth stands at over $8 million.
Who is her husband Carlos?
Carlos was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico on 4 September 1972 – his zodiac sign is Virgo, and he holds Puerto Rican and American nationality. He’s appeared in close to 50 movies and TV series, while he’s perhaps still known best for his portrayal of the supporting character Salvatore in the 2009 comedy movie “Couples Retreat”. It was directed by Peter Billingsley, starred Vince Vaughn, Malin Akerman and Jon Favreau, and follows a married couple who are participating at their resort’s therapy sessions; the movie won one of the five awards for which it was nominated.
Carlos was raised in Humacao, Puerto Rico by his father Carlos Ponce, Sr. and mother Esther Freyre, who left Cuba following Fidel Castro’s revolution. He was six when he began appearing in TV commercials, and could’ve then been seen in nearly all of the plays performed at his elementary school. The family moved to Miami, Florida when Carlos was 14, and he enrolled at South Miami Senior High, where he continued to appear in plays, and was named ‘Best Student Actor’. He matriculated in 1990, and then enrolled at New World School of the Arts on a scholarship, but quit after only a year, having launched his acting career.
He gained recognition in 1996, after starring as Renato in the romantic series “Sentimientos Ajenos”; it also starred Chantal Andere and Yolanda Andrade, and follows Leonor who’s ready to do whatever it takes to stop her sister from marrying Renato. Carlos went on to star as Adrian Martorel Ibanez in the 2001 romantic series “Blameless Love”, and to play the lead character Gustavo Almansa in the 2003 drama series “Ángel de la Guarda, mi Dulce Compañía”.
A couple of his other notable performances in the 2000s were in the comedy movie “Deauce Bigalow: European Gigolo”, the romantic family comedy movie “Meet Me in Miami”, and the comedy film “Complete Guide to Guys”, all of which were released in 2005.
In 2011 and 2012, he played Santiago Ballesteros Ortiz in the romantic series “Double Life”, created by Emilio Larrosa, and which starred Anahi, Sergio Goyri and Alfredo Adame. It follows the love life of a senior couple.
Three of Carlos’ most recent roles have been in 2021, in the drama series “The Five Juanas”, the historical biographical series “Luis Miguel: The Series”, and the musical family comedy movie “The Housewives of the North Pole”.
He has been nominated for only a single award: a 2015 Imagen Foundation Award for Best Supporting Actor – Television, for his performance in the comedy series “Cristela”.
