Mathews began as an intern on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in December 2001, he covered movie premieres, the
Academy Awards, two
Winter Olympic Games, and other events. Mathews has contributed commentary to the
E! networks various
101... specials, and appeared as a weekly panelist on E's late night talk show
Chelsea Lately. He appeared on the fifth season of
VH1's reality television show,
Celebrity Fit Club. During the course of the show, which premiered in April 2007, Mathews lost more than 40 lbs. (18 kg) and helped his team win the grand prize. He was also a guest host on
The View on July 17, 2007. Mathews joined the
E! Network's red carpet team, filling in for
Ryan Seacrest as co-host with
Giuliana Rancic for
E! Live From the Red Carpet coverage of the 2011
Screen Actors Guild Awards, the
2010 Emmy Awards, the 2011
Golden Globe Awards, and the
2011 Academy Awards. He hosted
Hello Ross, an interactive talk show on E! from September 6, 2013, until May 16, 2014. Mathews joined the panel of judges for RuPaul’s Drag Race beginning in 2015 for Season 7. Since 2022, he has served as an executive producer for the show and
won an Emmy in 2023 for Outstanding Reality Competition Program. Ross has written three books. On May 7, 2013, Mathews released his book
Man Up! Tales of My Delusional Self-Confidence. He appeared in the
second season as part of a Head of Household competition. Since fall 2020, he has appeared as a co-host on
The Drew Barrymore Show. ==Personal life==