Ross Mathews

Raised in Mount Vernon, Washington,^[2] Mathews graduated from Mount Vernon High School^[3] and graduated from the University of La Verne, in La Verne, California, in 2002. He majored in communications^[4] and competed in speech and debate competitions.^[5]

Mathews began as an intern on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in December 2001, he covered movie premieres, the Academy Awards, two Winter Olympic Games, and other events.^[6]

Mathews has contributed commentary to the E! networks various 101... specials, and appeared as a weekly panelist on E's late night talk show Chelsea Lately.^[7] He appeared on the fifth season of VH1's reality television show, Celebrity Fit Club. During the course of the show, which premiered in April 2007, Mathews lost more than 40 lbs. (18 kg) and helped his team win the grand prize.^[8] He was also a guest host on The View on July 17, 2007.^[9] Mathews joined the E! Network's red carpet team, filling in for Ryan Seacrest as co-host with Giuliana Rancic for E! Live From the Red Carpet coverage of the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Awards, the 2010 Emmy Awards, the 2011 Golden Globe Awards, and the 2011 Academy Awards. He hosted Hello Ross, an interactive talk show on E! from September 6, 2013, until May 16, 2014.^[10]

Mathews joined the panel of judges for RuPaul’s Drag Race beginning in 2015 for Season 7. Since 2022, he has served as an executive producer for the show and won an Emmy in 2023 for Outstanding Reality Competition Program.

Ross has written three books. On May 7, 2013, Mathews released his book Man Up! Tales of My Delusional Self-Confidence.^[7] On February 4, 2020 he released Name Drop: The Really Good Celebrity Stories I Usually Only Tell at Happy Hour. In 2025 he released Tío and Tío: The Ring Bearers, co-written with his husband Dr. Wellinthon García-Mathews.

In 2018, Mathews was announced as one of the eleven houseguests competing on the first American edition of Celebrity Big Brother. He finished in 2nd place, winning $50,000, and was voted as America's Favorite Houseguest earning an additional prize of $25,000.^[11] He appeared in the second season as part of a Head of Household competition.

Since fall 2020, he has appeared as a co-host on The Drew Barrymore Show.

Mathews is openly gay.^[12][13] From 2008 to 2018, he had a relationship with stylist Salvador Camarena.^[14][15][16]

On February 23, 2021, Mathews announced his engagement to Wellinthon García, a Long Island educational administrator.^[17][18] On May 7, 2022, Mathews and García married at a ceremony in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.^[19]

• Mathews, Ross (2013). Man Up!: Tales of My Delusional Self. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-1455512560.
• Mathews, Ross (2020). Name Drop. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 97-81797101484.