William Levy

William Levy (born William Levy Gutiérrez; August 29, 1980)[1] is a Cuban-American actor and former model.
Contents * 1 Early life and education * 2 Career * 3 Personal life * 4 Credits * 5 Lists * 6 References * 7 External links |
Early life and education
Levy was born in Cojimar, Cuba.[1] His maternal grandfather was Jewish.[3][4] He was raised by his single mother,Barbara.[5] Levy emigrated to Miami, Florida, when he was fourteen. He attended high school, after which he studied business administration on a baseball scholarship at St. Thomas University. He later went to Los Angeles to study acting and continued his acting studies in Miami and Mexico City.[6][7]
Career
Levy worked as a model for the Next Models agency, and was featured in two reality shows broadcastby Telemundo: Isla de la Tentación and Protagonistas de Novela 2.[8] In 2005 he performed at the Centro de Bellas Artes in San Juan, Puerto Rico, starring in the play La Nena Tiene Tumbao.
His debut on the Spanish-language channel Univision was in the Venevision International production of Olvidarte Jamás. He later appeared in Mi Vida Eres Tu and Acorralada. In 2008, he appeared in his firstfilm, 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. Televisa cast him as the lead in Cuidado con el Angel with actress and ex-RBD singer Maite Perroni.[9] The show was first broadcast in Mexico in June 2008, and began airing in the United States in September 2008 on Univision. It averaged45.7 million viewers per evening.[10]
Levy finished filming Sortilegio with actress Jacqueline Bracamontes on October 9, 2009.[11] Sortilegio aired on Univision, and the finale drew 6.6 million viewers, beating ABC and CBS for viewers in that time slot.[12]
In November 2009, the actor lent his voice to the Spanish version of the animated movie Planet 51.[13] The movie opened on November 27 inMexico and won an award for best animated Spanish-language film of 2009 (Premios Goya).[14] From November 2009 to February 2010, Levy toured several Mexican cities with the play Un Amante a la Medida,[15] which toured in the United States in June 2010.
Levy participated in the Mexican telenovela Triunfo del Amor, a remake of the Venezuelan classic Cristal, again with Maite Perroni. The telenovelaaired 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.[16][17]
Levy and Maite Perroni co-hosted the 25th HispanicHeritage Awards gala on September 15, 2011, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.[18]
Levy appeared on the cover of People en Español for its special issue on the sexiest men of the year.[19]
In January 2012, it was announced that Levy will appear in two episodes of the VH1 television series Single Ladies, with Denise Vasi.[20] He was a participant in the 14th seasonof Dancing with the Stars, with two-time mirror ball champion Cheryl Burke as his dance-pro partner.[21] They finished in 3rd place.[22]
Personal life
In 2003 he began a relationship with Mexican-American actress Elizabeth Gutiérrez. They met during their participation on Protagonistas de Novela 2. In 2006, they had a son, Christopher. On March 6, 2010, Gutierrez gave birth to a daughter,Kailey.[15][23] 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.[24][25]
On August 17, 2010, a female minor filed a lawsuit against Levy in Los Angeles alleging that Levy had sexually abused her.[26] Levy has denied the allegations and countersued for $10 million alleging extortion and...