Francisco "Frankie" Muñiz IV (born December 5, 1985) is an American actor, musician, writer, producer, and racing driver. He is known primarily as the star of the FOX television family sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, which earned him an Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Award nominations. In 2003, he was considered "one of Hollywood's most bankable teens." In 2008, he put his acting career on hold to pursue an open wheel racing career. He competed in the Atlantic Championship. In 2012, he joined the band Kingsfoil as a drummer. Muniz was born and grew up in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey His father, Francisco III, was a restaurateur, and his mother, Denise, was a nurse. Muniz is of Spanish, Puerto Rican, Italian, and Irish descent. He has an elder sister, Cristina. Muniz was first discovered at the age of eight, at a talent show in Raleigh, North Carolina, shortly after the family moved to the area from New Jersey.