Carlos Mencia was born Ned Holness on October 22nd 1967 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. His mother, Magdelena Mencia, from Mexico & his father, Roberto Holness, from Honduras came to America when Carlos was about 3-7 months old and decided to give Carlos to his aunt and uncle Consuelo and Pablo Mencia who lived next door to raise as their own because they weren't able to have children of their own plus his birth-parents small house was so packed already because his mother had so many children... They renamed him Carlos. Carlos grew up most of his life in the Maravilla Projects of East L.A.. Because of his exceptional school grades he had the chance to be skipped up to 10th Grade after the 6th Grade, but for fear of the older kids turning him on to the gang culture and thug life that dominated East Los Angeles he was sent to live in Seiko, Honduras between the ages 12 & 15. Carlos says he was a good kid, and managed to stay out of any serious trouble with the help of his family. Being the 17th of 18 children, he always found family to be of the "utmost importance". After returning back to East L.A. he graduated high school and attended Cal State L.A. where he majored in electronic engineering.

He eventually left school to pursue a career in comedy one credit shy of his degree. He then hit some of the hottest venues on the stand up circuit, such as The Comedy Store, The Laugh Factory, and The L.A. Cabaret. He earned the title of "International Comedy Grand Champion" from Buscando Estrellas (the Latino version of Star Search). This led to appearances on In Living Color, The Arsenio Hall Show, and An Evening at the Improv. In 1994 Carlos hosted HBO's series, "Loco Slam". His first album "Take A Joke, America" was released in 2000 by Warner Bros to major success. In 2001 Carlos headlined the "Three Amigos" tour with popular comedians Pablo Fransisco and Freddy Soto. In 2005, he became the host of his second television show "Mind Of Mencia" on Comedy Central.