William Levy (actor)

William Levy
William Levy in 2015 (2).jpg
Levy in 2015
Born (1980-08-29) 29 August 1980 (age 41)
Citizenship
  • Cuba
  • United States
Occupation
  • Actor
  • former model
Years active2003–present
Partner(s)Elizabeth Gutiérrez (2003–2022)
Children2

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

Early life and education

Levy was born in Cojimar, Cuba. His maternal grandfather was Jewish (the origin of his surname, Levy), although he grew up in a non-religious household. He was raised by his single mother, Barbara Levy. His family, including his brother Jonathan Gutierrez Levy and sister Barbara Gutierrez Levy, immigrated to Miami, Florida when he was 14. He attended Barbara Goleman Senior high school, located in the suburb of Miami Lakes. After attending high school, he studied business administration on a baseball scholarship at St. Thomas University for two years. He later went to Los Angeles to study acting, and continued his acting studies in Miami and Mexico City.

Career

Levy worked as a model for the Next Models agency, and was featured in two reality shows broadcast by Telemundo: Isla de la Tentación and Protagonistas de Novela 2. 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 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 telenovelas. Televisa cast him as the lead in Cuidado con el Angel with actress and ex-RBD singer Maite Perroni. The show was first broadcast in Mexico in June 2008, and began airing in the United States in September 2008 on Univision. It averaged 5 million viewers per evening.

Levy starred alongside Jacqueline Bracamontes on Sortilegio in 2009 Sortilegio aired on Univision, and the finale drew 6.6 million viewers, beating ABC and CBS for viewers in that time slot. In November 2009, the actor lent his voice to the Spanish version of the animated movie Planet 51. The movie opened on November 27 in Mexico and won an award for best animated Spanish-language film of 2009 (Premios Goya). From November 2009 to February 2010, Levy toured several Mexican cities with the play Un Amante a la Medida, 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 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 starred as Jennifer Lopez's love interest in the music video "I'm Into You", from her album Love?. It aired on NBC's Today on May 2, 2011. Levy appeared on the cover of People en Español for its special issue on the sexiest men of the year for 2011.

In January 2012, it was announced that Levy would appear in two episodes of the VH1 television series Single Ladies, with Denise Vasi. He was a participant in the 14th season of Dancing with the Stars, with two-time mirror ball champion Cheryl Burke as his dance-pro partner; they finished in third place. In December 2012 Levy was cast as Captain Damian Fabre for the remake of La Tormenta titled La Tempestad which aired in 2013. Levy starred in Addicted an erotic drama based on the novel of the same name by Zane. Variety named Levy one of the Top 10 Latino Actors and Actresses in Hollywood.

Levy co-starred in Tyler Perry's film The Single Moms Club (2014). Levy was cast in the lead role as Warrior in the Brent Ryan Green film The Veil (2017). In 2018, he began his role as Mateo Ferrera in the Fox musical drama series Star.

Personal life

Levy is a naturalized United States citizen. He has been in an on-off relationship with Mexican-American actress Elizabeth Gutiérrez since 2003, and they have two children together, a son, Christopher Alexander, in 2006, and a daughter, Kailey Alexandra, on March 6, 2010. On July 11, 2009, Levy converted to Catholicism.

Name change

He was born as William Gutiérrez Levy. He got the idea for his name change from a friend of his parents who tried helping the family get out of Cuba while William's mother was still pregnant, as he told Entertainment Tonight. Levy is his mother's Jewish last name.

Nude photos

In May 2012, while competing on Dancing with the Stars, nude photos of Levy leaked. Levy responded by saying "I'm used to that already. [The photos] have been out already all over the world. I was a model when I did these things, so as a model there's nothing wrong [with] doing those kind[s] of things. You gotta work. You gotta make money".

Activism

Levy is a philanthropist and donates his time to fix houses for low-income families in Mexico as part of the "Alianzas que Construyen" Televisa Foundation.[citation needed]

Dancing with the Stars performances

Levy was announced to be a contestant on ABC's Dancing With The Stars partnering with two-time champion Cheryl Burke for season 14.

Week # Dance/Song Judges' score Result
Inaba Goodman Tonioli
1 Cha-Cha-Cha/ "International Love" 8 8 8 No Elimination
2 Quickstep/ "Nice Work If You Can Get It" 9 7 9 Safe
3 Salsa/ "La Vida es un Carnaval" 9 9 10 Safe
4 Jive/ "We're Not Gonna Take It" 7 7 8 Safe
5 Argentine Tango/ "Buttons" 10 9 10 Safe
6 Rumba/ "Being with You"
Motown Marathon
9
Awarded
8
9
10
Points
Safe
7 Viennese Waltz/ "Ave Maria"
Team Paso Doble/ "O Fortuna"
9
9
9
8
9
9
Safe
8 Foxtrot/ "Stray Cat Strut"
Paso Doble (Trio Challenge)/ "Diablo Rojo"
10
9
10
9
10
9
Safe
9
Semi-finals
Tango/ "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"
Samba/ "Magalenha"
9
10
9
10
10
10
Safe
10
Finals
Cha-Cha-Cha/ "Raise Your Glass"
Freestyle/ "Objection (Tango)"
Salsa (24-hour Challenge)/ Juventud de Presente
10
10
10
10
9
10
10
10
10
Third Place

Filmography

Levy in 2015
Film
Year Title Role Notes
2008 Retazos de Vida Thiago
2009 Planet 51 Captain Charles "Chuck" Baker Voice role
2014 The Single Moms Club Manny
2014 Addicted Quinton Canosa
2016 Term Life Alejandro
2016 Resident Evil: The Final Chapter Christian
2017 A Change of Heart Carlos
2017 The Veil Warrior
2017 Girls Trip Himself Cameo
2017 Cinderelo Brando
2018 El fantasma de mi novia Chepa
2019 En Brazos de un Asesino Victor Faust
2021 South Beach Love Tony Sanchez
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2006 Mi vida eres tú Federico
2006 Olvidarte jamás Germán Torre
2007 Acorralada Larry Irázabal 187 episodes
2007 Pasión Vasco Darién
2008 Plaza Sésamo Himself Episode: "El problemón"
2008–2009 Cuidado con el ángel Juan Miguel San Román Bustos / Pablo Cisneros 194 episodes
2009 Sortilegio Alejandro Lombardo 90 episodes
2010 Mujeres asesinas Fonsi / Conde Alfonso de Jesús Ruiz Machado y Ortigoza Episode: "Annette y Ana, Nobles"
2010-2011 Triunfo del amor Maximiliano Sandoval 172 episodes
2012 Dancing with the Stars Himself Contestant
2012 Single Ladies Antonio 4 episodes
2013 La Tempestad Damián Fabré 122 episodes
2014 Miss Universe 2014 Judge TV Special
2018-2019 Star Matteo Ferrera Main role
2021 Café con aroma de mujer Sebastián Vallejo Main role
Music videos
Year Artist Title
2011 Jennifer Lopez "I'm Into You"

Theater

  • Un amante a la medida (2009–10)

Awards and nominations

Premios Bravo

Year Category Work Result
2008 Best Newcomer Pasión Won
2010 Best Actor Sortilegio Won

Premios Juventud

Year Category Work Result
2009 It's great! Cuidado con el ángel Won
2010 It's great! Sortilegio Won
2011 It's great! Triunfo del amor Won
2014 It's great! La Tempestad Won

Premios TVyNovelas

Year Category Work Result
2010 Best Actor Sortilegio Nominated

Califa de oro

Year Category Work Result
2012 Best Actor Triunfo del amor Won

Premios Casandra

Year Category Work Result
2012 Revelation Image Triunfo del amor Won

People en Español

Year Category Work Result
2009 Best Couple (with Maite Perroni) Cuidado con el ángel Nominated
Mejor actor Nominated
2010 Best Actor Sortilegio Nominated
Best Couple (with Jacqueline Bracamontes) Nominated
The best dress of the year William Levy Nominated
2011 Best Couple (with Maite Perroni) Triunfo del amor Won
Best Actor Nominated
The best dress of the year William Levy Nominated
2012 King ofTwitter Nominated
2013 Best Actor La Tempestad Nominated
Best Couple (with Ximena Navarrete) Nominated
The sexiest Twitter William Levy Nominated
William Levy, piloto de avión Nominated

Lists

  • 2011: He appeared in People en Español's list of the 50 handsomest men.
  • 2009: People en Español named him as one of "Los 25 hombres más guapos".
  • 2009: People en Español named him as one of "Los 50 más bellos".
  • 2008: Quién named him as one of "Los 12 hombres más sexys".
  • 2008: People en Español named him as one of "Los 50 más bellos".
  • 2006: People en Español named him as one of "Los 20 solteros más sexys".

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