Background and career
Joseph Anthony Fatone Jr. (born January 28, 1977) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host and businessman. He is best known as a member of the boy band NSYNC, in which he sang baritone. The band has sold over 70 million records, becoming one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. In 2007, he came in second place on the ABC reality show Dancing with the Stars. He was the host of the American and Australian versions of The Singing Bee, which aired on NBC in the United States. Fatone was the announcer for the game show Family Feud from 2010 to 2015. Fatone has hosted on Food Network's Rewrapped, Game Show Network's Common Knowledge, Live Well Network's My Family Recipe Rocks, The Price Is Right Live! at Bally's Las Vegas; and appeared as "Rabbit" on the first season of The Masked Singer in 2019.
Fatone was born in Brooklyn, New York City, to Joe and Phyllis Fatone. He has a brother, Steven, and a sister, Janine, and was raised at 2140 84th Street in the Bensonhurst neighborhood. His father had sung in a doo-wop group called the Orions. At 13, he moved with his family to Orlando, Florida, where he attended Dr. Phillips High School. He also appeared as a contestant on the children's game show Nick Arcade.
After high school, Fatone played "Wolfie" in Beetlejuice's Rock and Roll Graveyard Revue at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando. There, in the summer of 1995, he befriended fellow park performer Chris Kirkpatrick who recruited him as the fourth member of a new vocal group that included Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez. They were later joined by Lance Bass, and the band NSYNC was formed. Fatone sang baritone with the band from their formation to 2002, when they went on an indefinite hiatus, during which time they sold more than 70 million records worldwide. He performed lead vocals on the single "Together Again" and the No Strings Attached album track "I Thought She Knew". While a member of NSYNC, Fatone co-starred with bandmate Bass in the 2001 romantic comedy film On the Line and guest-starred with the band on The Simpsons episode, "New Kids on the Blecch". On August 25, 2013, NSYNC regrouped for a one-off performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. They performed a medley of "Girlfriend" and "Bye Bye Bye"; after the performance Lance Bass said that the group had no plans for a reunion tour or new music. In April 2019 the band reunited without Timberlake for a one-off performance with Ariana Grande at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. NSYNC have long been subject to speculation of a reunion, to which Fatone has answered: "Never say never".
On September 12, 2023, following weeks of teasers and speculation regarding a potential reunion, all five members appeared together at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards to present the Best Pop Award. On September 14, it was confirmed the group recorded a new song entitled "Better Place" for the DreamWorks Animation film Trolls Band Together. The song was released on September 29, 2023, reaching No. 1 on the US and Canadian iTunes Charts, No. 4 on the Global and European iTunes Charts and No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the wake of the new single's release, Fatone said there were no immediate plans for more music from NSYNC, but the band could release a new album within the next two years, subject to the success of "Better Place" and the involvement of Timberlake.
In 2002, Fatone played Cousin Angelo in the comedy film My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a role he reprised in the TV spin-off My Big Fat Greek Life and the 2016 sequel. In the same year, he made his Broadway debut, playing the lead in Rent at the Nederlander Theatre in New York. He went on to act in the critically acclaimed movie The Cooler and had minor roles in the experimental film Red Riding Hood and Homie Spumoni, the latter alongside Jamie-Lynn Sigler. He returned to Broadway in 2004 in a revival of Little Shop of Horrors and later appeared in productions of The Producers and 42nd Street in Pittsburgh and Rock of Ages at Bally's Las Vegas. Fatone played himself in the kung fu skit "Enter the Fat One" in the first season of Robot Chicken, later making more appearances on the show, including the first Star Wars episode. He also played himself in the Syfy film Jersey Shore Shark Attack, the TV series Return of the Mac, and the Comedy Central feature Cursed Friends. Fatone has guest-starred in the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana, Imagination Movers and Kim Possible in addition to various other TV shows and horror films, including Inkubus (2011) and Dead 7 (2016). He reprised his role as Angelo in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (2023), and he also lent his voice to Trolls Band Together playing the character Ablaze. He once again lent his voice to an episode of Superkitties in 2025.
Fatone was the "ringmaster" for NBC's reality series Celebrity Circus in 2005. In 2007, he hosted NBC's The Singing Bee and the Australian version of the show on Nine Network. The same year, he became a red carpet host for TV Guide along with Lisa Rinna. In 2009 Fatone co-hosted the live pre-show for TNA Wrestling's biggest annual pay-per-view event, TNA Bound for Glory, alongside Jeremy Borash. From 2010 to 2015, Fatone served as the announcer for host Steve Harvey on the show Family Feud. At the same time he hosted the Live Well Network series My Family Recipe Rocks, the Food Network cooking competition Rewrapped, and Parents Just Don't Understand series on the Hub Network. He also was a celebrity guest host of The Price Is Right Live! at Bally's Las Vegas. In January 2012, Fatone was one of eight celebrities participating in the Food Network reality series Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off. Though eliminated in week six, he secured a $5,000 award for his charity, the Fatone Family Foundation.
