Alejandro "Alec" Mapa (; born July 10, 1965) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

actor, comedian and writer. He got his first professional break when he was cast to replace

B. D. Wong Bradley Darryl Wong (born October 24, 1960) is an American actor. Wong won a Tony Award for his performance as Song Liling in ''M. Butterfly'', becoming the only actor in Broadway history to receive the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Crit ...

for the role of Song Liling in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production of ''

M. Butterfly ''M. Butterfly'' is a play by David Henry Hwang. The story, while entwined with that of the opera ''Madama Butterfly'', is based most directly on the relationship between French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and Shi Pei Pu, a Peking opera singer. T ...

''. He gained recognition for roles such as Adam Benet on ''

Half & Half ''Half & Half'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeffrey Klarik that aired on UPN from September 23, 2002, to May 15, 2006. The show focuses on the lives of two paternal half-sisters in their twenties who were estranged throughout t ...

'', Suzuki St. Pierre on ''

Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which was originally broadcast on ABC. It premiered on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian t ...

'' and Vern on ''

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...

''. Mapa recurred as Renzo on '' Switched at Birth''. Mapa co-hosted the Logo network reality dating game show ''

Transamerican Love Story ''Transamerican Love Story'' is an American reality dating show in which suitors woo transgender woman Calpernia Addams. Addams chooses a suitor by process of elimination. When the show first aired, viewers could vote their preferences online, ...

'' with

Calpernia Addams Calpernia Sarah Addams (born February 20, 1971) is an American actress, musician, spokesperson and activist for transgender rights and issues. Early life Addams grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. She served as a Hospital Corpsman with the Navy. D ...

in 2008. In 2013, he debuted in his own

one-man show A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show or one-woman show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieties, including auto ...

, '' Alec Mapa: Baby Daddy'', which was made into a

concert film A concert film, or concert movie, is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by either a musician or a stand-up comedian. Early history The ...

and premiered on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

in 2015.

Early life

Mapa was born in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and attended George Washington High School. While in high school, he played Randolph McAfee in the production of ''

Bye Bye Birdie ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is a stage musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, based upon a book by Michael Stewart. Originally titled ''Let's Go Steady'', ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is set in 1958. The short story "Dream Man", authored ...

''. Mapa's senior year productions were ''Cabaret'' and ''Harvey'', both in which he had the lead roles. Mapa was also a champion orator in the Humorous and Dramatic Interpretation categories of Speech.

Career

Mapa got his professional break when he was cast to understudy, and then replace

in the

production of ''

''. Mapa later played the role on the national tour. Mapa would return to Broadway in an adaptation of ''

L'Hôtel du libre échange ''L'Hôtel du Libre échange'' (: ''Free Exchange Hotel'') is a comedy written by the French playwrights Georges Feydeau and Maurice Desvallières in 1894. The play takes place in Paris in the 19th century, and follows two Parisian households and ...

'' by

Georges Feydeau Georges-Léon-Jules-Marie Feydeau (; 8 December 1862 – 5 June 1921) was a French playwright of the era known as the Belle Époque. He is remembered for his farces, written between 1886 and 1914. Feydeau was born in Paris to middle-class parent ...

and

Maurice Desvallières Ernest George Maurice Lefebvre-Desvallières (3 October 1857 – 23 March 1926) was a 19th–20th-century French playwright. Maurice was the brother of George Desvallières, son of Emile Lefebvre Desvallières and Marie Legouvé (daughter and g ...

, re-titled, "A Little Hotel on the Side" in 1992. The next year, Mapa was back on Broadway in a

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...

inspired production of

Timon of Athens ''Timon of Athens'' (''The Life of Tymon of Athens'') is a play written by William Shakespeare and probably also Thomas Middleton in about 1606. It was published in the '' First Folio'' in 1623. Timon lavishes his wealth on parasitic companio ...

. Off-Broadway, Mapa earned a nomination at the 2001

Lucille Lortel Awards The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatre ...

for his performance in the

Jessica Hagedorn Jessica Tarahata Hagedorn (born 1949) is an American playwright, writer, poet, and multimedia performance artist. Biography Hagedorn is an American of mixed descent. She was born in Manila to a Scots-Irish-French-Filipino mother and a Spanish Fi ...

play ''

Dogeaters ''Dogeaters'' is a novel written by Jessica Hagedorn and published in 1990. Hagedorn also adapted her novel into a play by the same name. ''Dogeaters'', set in the late 1950s in Manila (the capital of the Philippines), addresses several socia ...

'', and was featured in every play in the "Whitelands" trilogy, a series of plays about gay Asian men written by Chay Yew; "Porcelain" (1992), "A Language of Their Own" (1995), and "Wonderland" (1999). On television, he has made guest appearances on a wide variety of programs, including ''

The Jamie Foxx Show ''The Jamie Foxx Show'' is an American sitcom that aired on The WB from August 28, 1996, to January 14, 2001. The series stars Jamie Foxx, Garcelle Beauvais, Christopher B. Duncan, Ellia English, and Garrett Morris. Although the show was not ...

'', '' Roseanne'', ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

'', ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...

'', ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...

'', '' Murder One'' and ''

Dharma & Greg ''Dharma & Greg'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1997, until April 30, 2002, for 119 episodes over five seasons. The show starred Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as Dharma and Greg Montgomery, a ...

''. He had a supporting role in the short-lived 2001 comedy ''

Some of My Best Friends ''Some of My Best Friends'' (previously titled ''Macho Man'' and ''Me and Frankie Z'' before its television premiere) is an American sitcom television series created by Marc Cherry and Tony Vitale, that aired on CBS from February 28 until April ...

''. He played Adam Benet in the

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...

comedy ''

''. He wrote and performed in a one-man play titled "I Remember Mapa", about his experiences growing up gay in San Francisco. Mapa was a featured performer on the

Logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...

original

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

series ''Wisecrack''. In 2006 appeared as Vern, Gabrielle's personal shopper, on the TV series ''

''. He had a recurring role on the 2006–2010 series ''

'', as Suzuki St. Pierre, the flamboyant host of a fictional gossip and news show (who, it is revealed, is actually a straight—and married—journalist named Byron Wu). He performed the voice of Rick's flamboyantly gay uncle Bakla on the 2007-2009 animated series '' Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World''. Mapa's film credits include parts in '' Bright Lights, Big City'', ''

Playing by Heart ''Playing by Heart'' is a 1998 American comedy-drama film, which tells the story of several seemingly unconnected characters. It was entered into the 49th Berlin International Film Festival. It stars Gillian Anderson, Ellen Burstyn, Sean Connery, ...

'', ''

Connie and Carla ''Connie and Carla'' is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Michael Lembeck and starring Nia Vardalos, Toni Collette, and David Duchovny. The screenplay was written by Vardalos. The film was shot in Vancouver and featured a number of local ...

'' and ''

Marley & Me ''Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog'' is an autobiographical book by journalist John Grogan, published in 2005, about the 13 years he and his family spent with their yellow Labrador Retriever, Marley. The dog is poorly be ...

'', among others. He was featured in the movies '' Super Sweet 16: The Movie'' and ''

Tru Loved ''Tru Loved'' is a 2008 independent film written and directed by Stewart Wade and starring Najarra Townsend, Jake Abel, Matthew Thompson and Alexandra Paul. Plot Sixteen-year-old Tru has been raised in San Francisco by two lesbian mothers an ...

''. He also played as a stylist in the movie ''

You Don't Mess with the Zohan ''You Don't Mess with the Zohan'' is a 2008 American satirical action comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel, and Judd Apatow, and produced by Sandler, Smigel, and Jack Giarraputo. The film stars Sandler in ...

''. In 2008, Mapa hosted Logo's ''

'', a reality dating program starring transgender woman

selecting from among eight potential suitors. In the same year, he also hosted ''Dancing With Dogs'' on

Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the network is primarily ...

. Mapa also performed on the 2009

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...

Freedom Caribbean Cruise headlining in the Arcadia Theater. In 2010, Mapa became one of the co-hosts of Logo's ''The Gossip Queens'', a daily series where he helps present celebrity gossip. In his act, he jokes that he is sometimes confused with Rex Lee, another flamboyant Asian homosexual who plays Lloyd on the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

dramedy Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

''. In 2015, Mapa appeared on ''

Candidly Nicole ''Candidly Nicole'' is an American scripted comedic faux-reality television series starring Nicole Richie. The series premiered on July 17, 2014, on VH1. Richie talks about her humorous daily adventures and her views on everything from style to ...

'' with Nicole Richie.

Personal life

Mapa is gay and lends his support to various projects supporting the gay,

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

, and Asian American communities. In 2008, Mapa legally married Jamison "Jamie" Hebert, after dating since 2002. On the TV series ''The Gossip Queens'', Mapa stated in the opening episode that he and his husband had adopted a 5-year-old boy. They adopted their child in 2010. Mapa is of Filipino descent.

Credits

Writer

* ''

'' (2006): "The Big Nervous Breakup Episode"

Filmography

References

External links

Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mapa, Alec 1965 births American male actors of Filipino descent American male comedians American male film actors American male television actors Circle in the Square Theatre School alumni American gay actors Gay comedians Living people Male actors from San Francisco LGBT American people of Asian descent Comedians from California LGBT people from California 21st-century American comedians American comedians of Asian descent 21st-century LGBT people