William Levy

Actor • Model

Birth Name: Willliam Levy Gutiérrez

Birth Date: August 29, 1980

Age: 44 years old

Birth Place: Cojimar, Cuba

Partners: Elizabeth Gutiérrez

Repeatedly named one of the sexiest men on television by the Spanish-language media, actor-model William Levy made women swoon - both in Latin American countries and in America - as the star of several popular telenovelas. Born William Levy Gutiérrez on Aug. 29, 1980 in the small fishing village of Cojimar, east of Havana, Cuba, he immigrated to Miami, FL at the age of 15.

After learning to speak English while attending high school and college, Levy relocated to both Los Angeles and Mexico City in order to pursue a career as an actor and model. Levy soon appeared on the Spanish-language reality series "Protagonistas de Novela 2" (Telemundo, 2003), where he met actress Elizabeth Gutiérrez. Although the couple gave birth to a son and daughter, they did not marry and five years later announced their separation.

In the meantime, things picked up on the professional front for Levy, who after signing to the prestigious Next Models Agency, began landing work on such Spanish language melodramas as "Olvidarte Jamás" (Venevisión, 2005) and "Mi Vida Eres Tú" (Venevisión, 2006). Anecdotal proof of Levy's growing popularity came in 2006 when he was named one of the "20 Sexiest Bachelors" in People en Español magazine.

Levy's breakthrough came with a fan-favorite two episode guest turn on the period telenovela "Pasión" (Televisa, 2007), followed by a starring role on the soap opera "Cuidado con el Ángel" (Televisa, 2008-09). By now one of Mexico's most popular leading men, he went on to starring roles in such series as the immensely popular "Sortilegio" (Univision, 2009) and the top-rated novela "Triunfo del Amor" (Univision, 2010-11).

Levy's exposure was heightened further with his appearance as Jennifer Lopez's love interest in the singer-actress' music video for the single "I'm Into You" in 2011. The next year, he formally introduced himself to U.S. audiences as a celebrity contestant on the 14th season of the reality competition series "Dancing with the Stars" (ABC, 2005- ) under the tutelage of professional dancer Cheryl Burke.

By Bryce Coleman