Wilmer Valderrama's 'American Story' is one of service to his family and his country

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wilmer Valderrama vowed to “never let his family down” the night that he landed his breakthrough role as foreign exchange student Fez on “That '70s Show.”

“I have been given the chance to lift us all, and I won’t blow 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 in the United States and a young boy’s dream to help his family while making his acting dreams a reality.

At 44, Valderrama says he’s stayed true to his teenage vow and has always felt a sense of urgency to provide his family with a “happier life.”

“I grew up in Venezuela, so, I was front row to understand how it all could have been. So, I’m just incredibly grateful. I don’t know if I can ever put my guard down,” said the actor and producer.

Valderrama says he did not set out to release a memoir about his upbringing and career. The story unfolded as he reflected on his work with the United Service Organizations (USO), which brings entertainment to service members away from home.

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

Released during Hispanic Heritage Month and in an election year, Valderrama says the timing was “serendipitous.” He wanted to use the memoir as a way to remind the larger Latino community in the United States to own their stories and contributions.

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

Throughout the book, Valderrama discusses his close relationships with his ’70s show cast mates with much care and stays away from discussing scandals. He does not discuss scandals involving 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 steers clear of stories that made him the subject of tabloid fascination. This includes his high-profile relationships with actors Demi Lovato and Lindsay Lohan.

When asked why he chose to opt out of mentioning his past relationships, Valderrama responded that his focus when writing this book was on the theme of service.

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

The only romantic relationship mentioned in the book is the one with his current fiancee Amanda Pacheco.

Valderrama and Pacheco both share a daughter 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 can appreciate the fight that most of us had to do to actually open the gate for a lot of these things to be possible,” he said.

His vow to his family is one that he has also made to his cultural community: to showcase their achievements for audiences who might not interact with Latinos on a daily basis.

“I hope there are a lot of conversations that can get started with the book so that we can remind ourselves how close to each other’s interests we really are and how much we have been pushed away from one another,” Valderrama said.