Biography for
Erik Estrada (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

16 March 1949, New York City, New York, USA

Birth Name

Henry Enrique Estrada

Height

5' 9½" (1.77 m)

Spouse

Nanette Mirkovich	(20 September 1997 - present) 1 child
Peggy Rowe	(19 August 1985 - 1990) (divorced) 2 children
Joyce Miller	(25 November 1979 - 1980) (divorced)

Trivia

Played in a Mexican "telenovela" (soap opera) in the early '90s. Unlike many characters he's played, Estrada doesn't speak Spanish, so his lines were fed to him over an earphone during production.

Daughter, Francesca Natalia, born 5 January 2000 in Burbank, California.

Has his own Official Website that he and his wife answer all their fans emails and talk with them on the forum.

Is the face of D.A.R.E., an organization for a drug-free America.

Left "CHiPs" (1977) in the fall of 1981 over a contract salary dispute with NBC and was briefly replaced by 1976 Olympic decathlon gold medalist Bruce Jenner.

Once went to Thailand to attempt to circumvent the Screen Actors Guild and secure a sub-union job, the only work he could find.

Puerto Rican by ethnicity.

When he landed Johnny in "Two Women, One Road" (1993) he had to take 30 straight eight-hour days of Berlitz Spanish lessons before he could begin. Originally slated for 100 episodes, the show went to 400-plus episodes, became the biggest telenovela in Latin-American history and revived Estrada's almost non-existent career.

Was the original choice to play 'Carlos' in From Dusk Till Dawn (1996).

Was a reserve police officer with Muncie, Indiana police department from 2007-2010, completed full training in 2007. This was seen on the TV series "Armed & Famous" (2007).

Has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Ranked 15th on the TV Guide's Network, "TV's 25 Sexiest Men of All Time." (2008).

He has joined forces with the Safe Surfin' Foundation & Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces around the country to protect children from sexual predators on the Internet.

Ranked #1 on the TV Guide's Network, "TV's 25 Sexiest Men In Uniform." (2009).

Father of Anthony Eric Estrada and Brandon Michael-Paul Estrada.

Was engaged to Beverly Adams.

Best known by the public for his starring role as Off. Francis "Ponch" Poncherello on "CHiPs" (1977).

Personal Quotes

[in 1994 interview about "CHiPs" (1977)] We never drew guns on our show. Ours was a more informational type of show with a lot of kids in it. It was a totally different show than what they do today.

Where Are They Now

(December 2011) Charleston, WV, USA: In capacity with the Safe Surfin' Foundation/Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces spent most of December 2011 working with West Virginia State Police cyber crimes task force.