William Levy (actor)

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William Levy
William levy 2009.jpg
Levy in 2009
Born William Levy Gutiérrez[1]
(1980-08-29) August 29, 1980 (age 32)
Cojimar, Havana, Cuba
Occupation Actor, model
Years active 2003–present
Partner(s) Elizabeth Gutiérrez (2003–2011)[2]
Children 2
Website
william-levy.net

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

Contents

Early life and education [edit]

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 [edit]

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.[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 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. 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 averaged 5 million viewers per evening.[10]

Levy starred alongside Jacqueline Bracamontes on Sortilegio in 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 in Mexico 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 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 the NBC Today Show on May 2, 2011.[16][17]

In January 2012, it was announced that Levy will appear in two episodes of the VH1 television series Single Ladies, with Denise Vasi.[18] 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. [19][20] In December 2012 Levy was cast as Captain Damian Fabre for the remake of La Tormenta titled La Tempestad which is currently in production and is set to air in 2013. Levy is set to star in Addicted an erotic drama based on the novel of the same name by Zane.[21] Levy is attached to Tyler Perry's Single Moms Club set for release in 2014. [22]

Personal life [edit]

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] On July 11, 2009, Levy converted to Catholicism.[24][25] Levy appeared on the cover of People en Español for its special issue on the sexiest men of the year for 2011.[26] In press releases issued in May 2011, Levy and Gutierrez announced they had ended their 8-year relationship.[2]

On August 17, 2010, a female minor filed a lawsuit against Levy in Los Angeles alleging that Levy had sexually abused her.[27] Levy has denied the allegations and countersued for $10 million alleging extortion and defamation.[28]

Dancing with the Stars performances [edit]

Levy was announced to be a contestant on ABC's Dancing with the Stars, partnering with two-time champion Cheryl Burke.

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 [edit]

Films [edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2008 Retazos de Vida Thiago
2009 Planet 51 Captain Charles "Chuck" Baker Voice role (Spanish dubbing)
2013 Addicted Quentin Matthews post-production[29]
2014 Single Moms Club Manny pre-production[30]

Soap Operas [edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2005-06 Olvidarte Jamas German
2006 Mi Vida Eres Tu Federico
2007 Acorralada Larry Irazabal 187 episodes
2007–08 Pasión Vasco Darién 95 episodes
2008–09 Cuidado con el Angel Juan Miguel San Roman Lead Role
2009 Sortilegio Alejandro Lombardo Lead Role
2010-11 Triunfo del Amor Maximiliano Sandoval Lead Role
2013 La Tempestad Captain Damian Fabre / Daniel Felipe Castadena Lead Role

Television appearances [edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2002 La Isla de la Tentacion Himself Contestant
2003 Protagonistas de Novela 2 Himself Contestant
2010 Mujeres Asesinas Conde Fonsi "Annette y Ana, nobles" (Season 3, episode 7)
2012 Dancing with the Stars Himself Contestant (Season 14); 20 episodes
2012 Single Ladies Antonio "Still in Love with You" (Season 2, episode 13)
"Finally" (Season 2, episode 14)

Theater [edit]

  • Un Amante a la Medida/Un Amante Perfecto (2009-2010)

Lists [edit]

  • 2011: He appeared in People en Español's list of the 50 handsomest men.[26]
  • 2009: People en Español named him as one of "Los 25 hombres más guapos".[31]
  • 2009: People en Español named him as one of "Los 50 más bellos".[32]
  • 2008: Quién named him as one of "Los 12 hombres más sexys".[33]
  • 2008: People en Español named him as one of "Los 50 más bellos".[34]
  • 2006: People en Español named him as one of "Los 20 solteros más sexys".[35]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b c "William Levy biography". www.esmas.com (in Spanish) (Esmas). 
  2. ^ a b Pastorizo, Dennis (May 11, 2011). "William Levy And Elizabeth Gutierrez Split; Love Child To Blame?". Celebrity Gossip. Retrieved May 13, 2011. 
  3. ^ "William Levy". www.oem.com.mx (in Spanish) (Organizacion Editorial Mexicana). 
  4. ^ Shira, Dahvi (2012-02-28). "Dancing with the Stars Cast: William Levy - 5 Things". People.com. Retrieved 2012-09-09. 
  5. ^ "William Levy Talks Fleeing Cuba, Finding Instant Fame & 'Dancing With The Stars'". Starpulse.com. 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2012-09-09. 
  6. ^ "William Levy interview". www.so.com.mx (in Spanish) (Revista SO). [dead link]
  7. ^ "William Levy". www.reinarojas.com (in Spanish) (Reina Rojas). 
  8. ^ Protagonistas de novela 2 March 2009.
  9. ^ esmas.com
  10. ^ EW on the set of CCEA
  11. ^ esmas.com
  12. ^ bythenumbers
  13. ^ El Universal "William Levy incursiona en el doblaje en la cinta Planet 51" - October 2009
  14. ^ El Mundo, España
  15. ^ a b People en español "William Levy en Un amante a la medida" - October 2009
  16. ^ "Jennifer López, muy sensual junto al nuevo galán de su videoclip, el modelo cubano William Levy". ¡Hola!. April 19, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2011. 
  17. ^ "Jennifer Lopez Premieres 'I’m Into You'". Gossip Cop. May 2, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2011. 
  18. ^ Rivera, Adriana (January 4, 2012). "William Levy to Guest Star on 'Single Ladies'". Latina. Retrieved February 29, 2012. 
  19. ^ "Meet the Season 15 cast of Dancing with the Stars | ABC TV Show News, Cast, Photos & More â€" ABC.com". Abc.go.com. Retrieved 2012-09-09. 
  20. ^ "'Dancing with the Stars' crowns Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd new champs". Reality TV World. 2012-05-23. Retrieved 2012-09-09. 
  21. ^ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/erotic-drama-addicted-rounds-cast-386129
  22. ^ http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=95984
  23. ^ "William Levy y Elizabeth Gutiérrez por primera vez en familia". People en Español. March 2, 2011. Retrieved March 14, 2011. 
  24. ^ "William Levy convertes to Catholicism" (in Spanish). People en Español. July 14, 2009. Retrieved October 19, 2010. "William Levy se convirtió a la religión católica" 
  25. ^ Notimex, Domingo (July 12, 2009). "William Levy was baptized and confirmed" (in Spanish). Quién.com. Retrieved October 20, 2010. "William Levy fue bautizado y confirmado" 
  26. ^ a b "William Levy tops People en Español list of sexiest men". Fox News. August 25, 2011. 
  27. ^ Demandan a William Levy por agresión sexual a una menor
  28. ^ Soap Opera Star Claims L.A. Attorney and Young Woman Tried to Extort Him
  29. ^ http://movies.yahoo.com/news/erotic-drama-addicted-rounds-cast-000216253.html
  30. ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/27/tyler-perry-begins-production-single-moms-club_n_2199930.html
  31. ^ Revista People en español "William Levy uno de los 25 hombres más guapos" - August 2009
  32. ^ People en Español May 2009.
  33. ^ Quién November 2008.
  34. ^ People en Español January 2009.
  35. ^ People en Español January 2009.

External links [edit]

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Ricki Lake & Derek Hough		 Dancing with the Stars (US) third place contestant
Season 14 (Spring 2012 with Cheryl Burke)		 Succeeded by
Kelly Monaco & Valentin Chmerkovskiy
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