Wilmer Valderrama calls his daughter 'the biggest win I've ever had in my life'

By Megan Armstrong | Last updated 6/8/21

Wilmer Valderrama can't imagine life before fatherhood, even though he welcomed his first child less than four months ago.

The 41-year-old actor gushed over three-month-old Nakano Oceana while visiting SiriusXM on Monday (June 7):

"I will say that I've always known why I do what I do. I've always said that if you woke up this morning, you're already winning. When I wake up every morning and feel like I won because I just woke up, and then I go into her little room and wake her up in the morning before she feeds and see her eyes open, it's the biggest win I've ever had in my life.

"And that is something that is different. It makes me swing harder. Everything you see me do professionally and soulfully and spiritually and, specifically, with my mind, soul and my body, it's to not just provide but create the right example. I start thinking about her generation and what toys is she gonna play with? Are they gonna look like her? Is there heroes that look like her? Is there women that she can aspire to be?"

Valderrama later added that he "honestly just can't wait" to have father-daughter date nights with Nakano, and he wants to teach her how to dance as soon as possible.

The NCIS actor and his fiancée Amanda Pacheco publicly announced Nakano's Feb. 15 birth on Feb. 21 with identical Instagram posts:

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Valderrama has continued to share glimpses in the months since:

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A post shared by Wilmer Valderrama (@wilmervalderrama)

The That '70s Show icon also detailed to People the meaningful story behind his daughter's name, which began with a "beautiful and eye-opening" trip he and Pacheco took to Japan in the earlier stages of their relationship. It was in Japan, he said, that they "decided we would be together, that we would really be together." They got engaged on Jan. 1, 2020.

When Pacheco was pregnant, the couple began researching names of Japanese warriors and landed on female samurai Takeko Nakano.

"Nakano became something that felt strong, felt unique, felt different," Valderrama told People. "I thought what a cool, fun little conversation topic for our daughter to have as she grows older. But also, the respect and the heritage, and the tribute to one of those beautiful moments where my fiancée and I said 'I love you' for the first time. To commemorate that trip to Japan with our first labor of love."

Valderrama touched again on the name's significance when discussing how he wants to teach Nakano how to dance with SiriusXM: "I feel like knowing how to dance is a weapon when you're young, and I think she needs to defend herself in life. That's why I gave her the name Nakano because I feel like Nakano is a strong name. It's the name of a legendary, honorable geisha who is a female warrior for Japan."

Watch Valderrama's full interview below.