Francisco Muniz IV (born December 5, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the Fox television family sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, which earned him an Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Award nominations. At the height of his fame, he was considered as one of the most popular child actors and 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, and competed in the Atlantic Championship. From 2012 to 2014, he was a drummer in the band Kingsfoil.
Muniz was born on December 5, 1985 in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey. His father, Francisco III, was a restaurateur, and his mother, Denise, was a nurse. His father is Puerto Rican and his mother is of Italian and Irish descent. He has an elder sister, Cristina. When Muniz was four years old, his family moved to Knightdale, North Carolina, where he grew up. He was first discovered at the age of eight, at a talent show in Raleigh, North Carolina, in a local production of A Christmas Carol, cast as Tiny Tim. Shortly after, his parents divorced, and he subsequently moved to Burbank, California, with his mother. Beginning in the sixth grade, Muniz was home-schooled by his mother. He appeared in commercials and made his film debut in the made-for-television movie To Dance With Olivia (1997), starring Lou Gossett Jr. In that same year, he appeared in the CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of What the Deaf Man Heard. A small role in the film Lost & Found (1999) led to his breakout role as the title character on Malcolm in the Middle.