John Leguizamo is an American actor, comedian, producer, writer, and director. He rose into prominence with his co-starring role in Super Mario Bros in 1993.
Leguizamo was born in Bogotá, Colombia on July 22, 1960, the son of Luz Marina Peláez and Alberto Rudolfo Leguizamo.
According to Leguizamo, his surname is of Basque origin and he has distant Basque roots.
His family is Colombian, with a DNA test stating that his genetic ancestry is 59.4% European (mainly Spanish), 24.5% Indigenous, 3.1% North African, and 2.9% Sub-Saharan African, with the rest unmatched.
His paternal grandfather was a wealthy Colombian landowner, and his great-great-grandfather, Higinio Cualla, was Mayor of Bogotá for sixteen years in the late 1800s and was considered an important modernizer of the city.
Leguizamo attended the Joseph Pulitzer Middle School (I.S.145) and later the Murry Bergtraum High School.
He was voted “Most Talkative” by his classmates. After graduating from high school, he began his theater career as an undergraduate at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts before he dropped out in favor of a career in stand-up comedy. Post-NYU, Leguizamo enrolled at LIU Post and at HB Studio, where he took theater classes.
Full Name: John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez
Date of Birth: July 22, 1961
Place of Birth: Bogotá, Colombia
Age: 60
Nationality: American
Occupation: Actor, Comedian, Producer, Screenwriter, Director
Net-worth: $25 million
Personal Life:
He married actress Yelba Osorio in 1994. They divorced in 1996 after two years of marriage.
He married Justine Maurer, a costumer on Carlito’s Way in a Catholic-Jewish ceremony on June 28, 2003; he is Catholic and Maurer is Jewish, they are blessed with two children, daughter Allegra Sky Leguizamo and son Ryder Lee “Lucas” Leguizamo.
Career:
He started his career as a stand-up comic doing the New York nightclub circuit in 1984. He made his television debut in 1986 with a small part in Miami Vice.
He starred in Whispers in the Dark as John Castillo in 1992, I
Leguizamo also starred in Romeo + Juliet as Tybalt Capulet, as Violator in Spawn, Cholo in Land of the Dead, and Pestario ‘Pest’ Vargas in The Pest.
Leguizamo has appeared in over 100 films, produced over 20 films and documentaries, featured on Broadway in several productions (winning several awards, including a Special Tony Award), made over 30 television appearances, and has produced or starred in many other television shows.
He starred in the movie Empire. To promote the 2001 movie Moulin Rouge!, he appeared on a celebrity edition of the US version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? with Kelly Ripa, Kevin Sorbo, Alfre Woodard, Martin Short and Chevy Chase.
In 2007, he played Michael Beltran in the movie The Babysitters. In 2008, he co-starred in the movie The Happening, written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan.[18]
He played a drug dealer in the action comedy film American Ultra alongside Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart. He also starred in John Wick as Aurelio in 2014.
Leguizamo provided the voice of Bruno Madrigal in the Disney animated film Encanto in 2021.
Films:
video (1984); Mixed Blood (1985), Casualties of War (1989), a terrorist in Die Hard 2 (1990), Hangin’ with the Homeboys (1991), the robber in Regarding Henry (1991), Super Mario Bros (1993), and Night Owl (1993).
Awards:
Emmy-Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Music Program:
Nothing Like the Holidays (2008)
Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
Outstanding Host of a Variety or Awards Special