Luis Guzman Bio, Children, Net Worth, Wife, Family & Other Facts

Publish date: 2024-05-09

Forget lead roles, character roles can also make you a star, and Luis Guzman – one of the most prolific actors Hollywood has ever seen, is proof of that. Recognized for his wolf-man face (you can’t miss him in the crowd), the Puerto Rican actor is known for playing the role of a police acolyte, a thug or a villain.

Luis Guzman Organic

Luis Guzman was born on August 28, 1956 in Cayey, Puerto Rico. About fifteen minutes after he was born, his mother, Rosa, a hospital worker, moved to New York, where Guzman would be raised in the village of Greenwich as well as the Lower East Side. His stepfather, Benjamin Cardona, a television repairman, helped raise him alongside his brother and sister.

Guzman grew up to be a tough kid and at the age of 9, in 6th grade, he was expelled for two weeks for engaging in a brutal fight. However, the words of his school dean after his expulsion forced him to change his life. Guzman turned over a new leaf and began devoting his time to serving the people of his neighborhood. He helped construct abandoned buildings and tended to maintain gardens.

After graduating from high school, Guzman became a social worker. He landed a job as a youth counselor at the Henry Street Settlement, a cultural and social center on the Lower East Side.

But serving people wasn’t the only thing Guzman was good at, he was also a prankster who felt prone to exaggeration and over-acting. As a result, Guzman was drawn to the stage and performed frequently at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, where he would meet Cuban poet Miguel Pinero. Guzman then started playing on the side, just for fun. He appeared in street theater and had the role of an extra in the 1977 film Short Eyes.

In 1985, Guzman received a tip from Pinero that casting was underway for the television series Miami Vice. Guzman participated in the auditions which simply required him to stare at himself fiercely. He appeared in two episodes of the series, which became his professional debut. Guzman continued to play for fun as he could not afford to give up his job as an adviser.

However, after the tragedy that struck his home in 1991 when he lost his child, Guzman decided to take acting more seriously. Previously, he had acted in notable films such as “True Believer” (1989) and Q&A (1990). Guzman described the latter as his breakthrough film.

Guzman began turning heads with performance in films like Carlito’s Way (1993) and The Cowboy Way (1994). Soon big names like Paul Thomas Anderson came calling. Anderson picked it up for his second film Boogie Nights (1997). Guzman would go on to appear in other Anderson projects like Magnolia (1999) and Punch-Drunk Love (2002).

Another illustrious director, Steven Soderbergh would endorse Guzman and feature him in several of his films, including Out of Sight (1998), The Limey (199) and Traffic (2000). Guzman continues to act to this day. His focus has been on TV shows, Code Black, Mind Games, and Narcos, among others. On the big screen, he recently appeared in 9/11 (2017) and The Padre (2018).

Family: wife and children

Guzman is a faithful family man. Since 1985 he has been married to his wife Angelita Galarza-Guzmán, born in 1959. After six years of marriage, the couple sought to have children. Sadly, their first child, a son, died of suffocation during childbirth in 1991.

The experience left Guzman emotionally devastated and forced him to miss work for about two months, after which he returned to Hollywood and took his career more seriously.

At the end of 1991, Guzman and his wife adopted their first baby named Cemi. They later adopted another child, Yemaya, before adding her half-siblings, the Yoruba twins and Margarita, bringing the number of Guzman’s adopted children to four. On the second attempt, Guzman’s wife was lucky with childbirth and successfully delivered their first biological baby, Luna, bringing their number of children to five.

Net value

With an endless list of filmography, the prolific actor has paychecks coming in from time to time. His net worth is estimated between $12-15 million. Guzman and his family live on a 128-acre, three-story property in Sutton, Vermont. He calls it his little paradise. The house includes a barn and a stable.

Also Read: Laz Alonso Wife, Married, Parents, Net Worth, Family, Height, Girlfriend

other facts

He is 1.7m (5ft 7.5in) tall

Luis Guzman voiced the character of Ricardo Diaz in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: Stories of Vice City.

Marlon Brando is his “favorite actor of all time”.

In 2003, Luis briefly owned a TV series on Fox titled Luis.

He prefers his first name to be pronounced with the “s” ignored.

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