William Levy (actor)

William Levy
Born William Levy Gutiérrez[1]
August 29, 1980 (1980-08-29) (age 31)
Cojimar, Havana, Cuba
Occupation Actor, model
Years active 2003–present
Partner Elizabeth Gutiérrez (2003–2011)[2]
Children 2

William Levy (born William Levy Gutiérrez on August 29, 1980[1]) is a Cuban-American actor and former model.

Contents

Early life and education

Levy was born in Cojimar, Cuba.[1] He is of Jewish ancestry on his paternal grandfather's side.[3] Levy emigrated to Miami, Florida, when he was 14. He attended high school, after which he studied business administration on a baseball scholarship. He subsequently went to Los Angeles to study acting and continued his acting studies in Miami and Mexico City.[4][5]

Career

Levy worked as a model for the agency Next Models and was featured later in two reality shows broadcast by Telemundo: Isla de la Tentación and Protagonistas de Novela 2.[6] In 2005 he performed at the Centro de Bellas Artes in San Juan Puerto Rico, starring in the play La Nena Tiene Tumbao.

His first debut on the Spanish-language channel Univision was in the Venevision International production of Olvidarte Jamas. He later appeared in Mi Vida Eres Tu and Acorralada.

In 2008, he appeared in his first film Retazos de Vida directed by Viviana Cordero.

He was invited by television producer Carla Estrada to star in Pasión, his breakthrough in Mexican soap operas. His performance was so well received that Televisa later cast him as the lead in Cuidado con el Angel with actress and ex-RBD singer Maite Perroni.[7] The show was first broadcast in Mexico in June 2008 and began airing in the United States in September 2008 on Univision. It averaged 45.7 million viewers per evening.[8]

Levy finished filming Sortilegio with actress Jacqueline Bracamontes on October 9, 2009.[9] Sortilegio aired on Univision, and the finale drew 6.6 million viewers, beating ABC and CBS.[10]

In November 2009, the actor lent his voice to the animated movie Planet 51 in its Spanish version.[11] The movie opened on November 27 in Mexico and won an award for best animated Spanish-language film of 2009 (Premios Goya).[12] From November 2009 to February 2010, Levy toured several Mexican cities with the play Un Amante a la Medida,[13] which later toured in the United States in June 2010.

Levy is currently shooting the Mexican telenovela Triunfo del Amor, a remake of the Venezuelan classic Cristal, in which he once again shares credits with Maite Perroni. The telenovela aired on October, 25, 2010 in El Canal de las Estrellas. Pedro Torres, executive producer of Mujeres Asesinas, confirmed Levy's role in the third season of the popular Mexican series.

Levy stars as Jennifer Lopez's love interest in her music video I'm Into You, from her album Love?. It aired on the NBC Today Show on May 2, 2011.[14][15]

Levy and Maite Perroni co-hosted the 25th Hispanic Heritage Awards gala on September 15, 2011, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.[16]

Levy appeared on the cover of People en Español, which selected him for its special issue on the sexiest men of the year.[17]

Personal life

In 2003, he began a relationship with Mexican-American actress Elizabeth Gutiérrez. The two met during their participation on Protagonistas de Novela 2. In 2006, they had a son, Christopher Alexander. On March 6, 2010, Gutierrez gave birth to a daughter, Kailey Alexandra.[13][18] In press releases issued in May 2011, Levy and Gutierrez announced they had ended their 8-year relationship.[2]

On July 11, 2009, Levy converted to Catholicism.[19][20]

On August 17, 2010, a female minor filed a lawsuit against Levy in Los Angeles alleging that Levy had sexually abused her.[21] Levy has denied the allegations and countersued for $10 million alleging extortion and defamation.[22]

Credits

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Mi Vida Eres Tu Federico supporting role
2006 Olvidarte Jamas German supporting role
2007 Acorralada Larry supporting role
2007–2008 Pasión Vasco supporting role
2008 Retazos de Vida Thiago
2008–2009 Cuidado con el Angel Juan Miguel San Roman lead role
2009 Sortilegio Alejandro Lombardo lead role
2009–2010 Un Amante a la Medida/Un Amante Perfecto Mexico, United States and Puerto Rico.
2010 Mujeres Asesinas Conde Fonsi victim
2010 Por Derecho de Sangre lead role
2010-2011 Triunfo del Amor Max Sandoval lead role
2011 I'm Into You Jennifer Lopez music video

Awards

Other

References

  1. ^ a b c "William Levy biography" (in Spanish). www.esmas.com (Esmas). http://www2.esmas.com/entretenimiento/biografias/009295/william-levy. 
  2. ^ a b Pastorizo, Dennis (May 11, 2011). "William Levy And Elizabeth Gutierrez Split; Love Child To Blame?". Celebrity Gossip. http://en.terra.com/celebrity-gossip/news/william_levy_and_elizabeth_gutierrez_split_love_child_to_blame/oci51112. Retrieved May 13, 2011. 
  3. ^ "William Levy" (in Spanish). www.oem.com.mx (Organizacion Editorial Mexicana). http://www.oem.com.mx/esto/notas/n545359.htm. 
  4. ^ "William Levy interview" (in Spanish). www.so.com.mx (Revista SO). http://www.so.com.mx/oncover.html. 
  5. ^ "William Levy" (in Spanish). www.reinarojas.com (Reina Rojas). http://www.reinarojas.com/william.html. 
  6. ^ Protagonistas de novela 2 March 2009.
  7. ^ esmas.com
  8. ^ EW on the set of CCEA
  9. ^ esmas.com
  10. ^ bythenumbers
  11. ^ El Universal "William Levy incursiona en el doblaje en la cinta Planet 51" - October 2009
  12. ^ El Mundo, España
  13. ^ a b People en español "William Levy en Un amante a la medida" - October 2009
  14. ^ "Jennifer López, muy sensual junto al nuevo galán de su videoclip, el modelo cubano William Levy". ¡Hola!. April 19, 2011. http://www.hola.com/musica/2011041952177/jennifer-lopez-william-levy-videoclip/1/. Retrieved April 19, 2011. 
  15. ^ "Jennifer Lopez Premieres 'I’m Into You'". Gossip Cop. May 2, 2011. http://www.gossipcop.com/jennifer-lopez-today-show-may-2-2011-interview-video-im-into-you-premiere/. Retrieved May 8, 2011. 
  16. ^ Rosario, Mariela (July 1, 2011). "Maite Perroni & William Levy Hosting Hispanic Heritage Awards". Latina). http://www.latina.com/entertainment/buzz/maite-perroni-william-levy-hosting-hispanic-heritage-awards. Retrieved July 1, 2011. 
  17. ^ a b http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/entertainment/2011/08/25/william-levy-tops-people-en-espanol-list-sexiest-men/
  18. ^ "William Levy y Elizabeth Gutiérrez por primera vez en familia". People en Español. March 2, 2011. http://www.peopleenespanol.com/pespanol/articles/0,22490,2056542,00.html. Retrieved March 14, 2011. 
  19. ^ "William Levy convertes to Catholicism" (in Spanish). People en Español. July 14, 2009. http://www.peopleenespanol.com/pespanol/articles/0,22490,1910347,00.html. Retrieved October 19, 2010. "William Levy se convirtió a la religión católica" .
  20. ^ Notimex, Domingo (July 12, 2009). "William Levy was baptized and confirmed" (in Spanish). Quién.com. http://www.quien.com/espectaculos/2009/07/12/william-levy-fue-bautizado-y-confirmado. Retrieved October 20, 2010. "William Levy fue bautizado y confirmado" .
  21. ^ Demandan a William Levy por agresión sexual a una menor
  22. ^ Soap Opera Star Claims L.A. Attorney and Young Woman Tried to Extort Him
  23. ^ Revista People en español "William Levy uno de los 25 hombres más guapos" - August 2009
  24. ^ People en Español May 2009.
  25. ^ Quién November 2008.
  26. ^ People en Español January 2009.
  27. ^ People en Español January 2009.

External links