William Levy

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, emigrated 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.