Dantes, or Jose Sixto Gonzales Dantes III in real life, was born on August 2, 1980 in Quezon City, Philippines. He is the son of José Dantes Jr & Angeline Gonzales Dantes.
He attended college at the San Beda and took up Marketing Management but later on transferred to the Ateneo de Manila University as an Interdisciplinary Studies and Communication Arts major.
Before breaking into television and movies, Dingdong started off as a print and commercial model. He then joined an all-male dance group called Abztract Dancers, together with his friend and fellow actor, Dino Guevarra, and his cousin and actor, Arthur Solinap. Their group became regulars in Eat Bulaga and That’s Entertainment, making him treat legendary starmaker, German Moreno like his own father.
His acting debut was on GMA Network’s defunct youth-oriented show T.G.I.S. (Thank God It’s Sabado) where he played the dashing boy-next-door Iñaki. His performance was well-received and contributed much to his growing popularity. He was paired with Antoinette Taus in the said show and their team up spun films like Honey My Love So Sweet and I’m Sorry My Love and other television projects such as Anna Karenina. Their on and off-screen romance ended when Taus left to pursue a film and recording career abroad.
Dingdong was subsequently paired with different leading ladies. In 2002, he teamed up with actress Tanya Garcia in GMA-7’s primetime soap opera series entitled Sana Ay Ikaw Na Nga. Their pairing was received satisfactorily leading to another primetime romance-drama in 2003 entitled Twin Hearts.
Dantes, then, took on several hosting stints and has emceed for the Binibining Pilipinas Pageant in numerous occasions. His flair and spontaneity in the field eventually led him to be selected as host for GMA Network’s reality artist search, StarStruck in 2003 and has since hosted in the seasons that followed.
Aside from his television stints, Dantes also appeared in several blockbuster films including Magkapatid (with Sharon Cuneta and Judy Ann Santos) and Pangarap Ko Ang Ibigin Ka (with Regine Velasquez and Christopher De Leon).
One of Dingdong's favorite show was the suspense-thriller program Wag Kukurap, for which he served as host, and occasionally, as director.
Another well received performance was his role as King Ybrahim in the fantasy series Encantadia where his romance with co-star Karylle bloomed. The couple also co-star in the 2006 film Moments of Love but later on went through an ugly break-up. Karylle have since transferred to rival network ABS-CBN.
In 2007, Dantes was paired with Marian Rivera in the Pinoy version of the Mexican telenovela Marimar. The series proved to be a hit on national television. They later on became a real life couple. On the same year, Dingdong was named No. 1 Bachelor by Cosmopolitan Magazine (Philippines).
In 2008, Dingdong and Marian teamed up once again in the fantasy series Dyesebel. He then made a slew of endorsements including Bench and Ibuprofen Medicol.
On August 22, 2008, Dantes was chosen as one of the 25 Sexiest Men of the World list in the Entertainment Television special. Dantes is the only Filipino who made it, and appeared with the world’s sexiest male celebrities including Dan Carter (New Zealand), actor Gilles Marini (France), actor and fashion model Michael Lewis (Israel) and singer Kostas Martakis (Greece) and David Beckham.
Also in 2008, Dantes starred in One True Love. The Cinema Evaluation Board of the Philippines rated the film a B. In early 2009, Dantes appeared on Ang Babaeng Hinugot Sa Aking Tadyang, again with real and reel partner Marian Rivera.
Dantes was chosen as Myx Guest VJ in August 2009 to promote his album "The Dingdong Dantes Experience." The album turned gold just a week after it was released on the variety show SOP and just before end of August, Yes magazine released a special edition which features Dantes.
Dantes was chosen to portray the role of "Cholo" in the Philippine adaptation of the Koreanovela Stairway To Heaven. He replaced Richard Gomez as the host for Family Feud when the latter decided to run in the May 2010 elections.
In 2010, Dantes released You Are To Me Are Everything, a film he co-stars with marian Rivera. It bombed at the tills. He was also part of Regine Velasquez and Ogie Alcasid U.S tour on mid May-June with Marian Rivera as special guests.
