Justin Baldoni

Justin Louis Baldoni (born January 24, 1984) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for portraying Rafael Solano on The CW satirical romantic dramedy Jane the Virgin (2014–2019) as well as directing the films Five Feet Apart (2019) and Clouds (2020). Early life Baldoni was born in Los Angeles, California, and was raised in Medford, Oregon, the son of Sharon and Sam Baldoni. His mother is from a Jewish family and his father is of Italian ancestry. His paternal grandfather is Louis Baldoni, an Indiana senator and Italian immigrant. Baldoni's parents joined the Baháʼí Faith, which Baldoni practices devoutly. Baldoni played soccer and ran track in high school, and was a radio disc jockey at a local top-40 radio station. While moving into a new apartment building, Baldoni met a manager who advised him to pursue a career in acting. He attended college on a partial athletic scholarship, but later dropped out. Career In 2008, Baldoni wrote, produced, and directed his first music video that was selected and won him his first "Audience Choice Award" at Dawn Breakers International Film Festival. In 2012, Baldoni created a digital documentary series, My Last Days, a show about living – as told by the dying. The show eventually became one of the most-watched documentary series' streamed online. The second season of My Last Days aired on CW and third season was released in the winter of 2018. On the heels of that success Baldoni founded Wayfarer Entertainment, a digital media studio focused on disruptive inspiration. In December 2018, Baldoni spoke at the annual End Well Symposium about why he believes that thinking about our death can help us live better.