Ignacio "Nacho" Figueras Bermejo (, born March 4, 1977) is an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

player and model with a 6-goal handicap. Dubbed the "David Beckham of polo", Figueras is considered to be the most famous polo player in the world. He currently co-owns and plays for Black Watch Polo Team. Since 2005, Figueras has been the face of

Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for founding the brand Ralph Lauren (brand), Ralph Lauren, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He stepped do ...

's Black Label. In 2015, ''models.com'' ranked him in the top eighteen of their ''Money Men''.

Early life

Ignacio Figueras Bermejo was born on March 4, 1977, in Veinticinco de Mayo, Buenos Aires. He was raised in a middle-class family on a small farm outside the city. His father was close friends with polo player Lucas Monteverde. Figueras began playing polo at age 9 with Monteverde during weekend visits to his estate. At the age of 14, he moved into Monteverde's estate so he could ride horses daily and take polo more seriously.

Polo

Figueras began playing polo professionally in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

at age 17. "I was my own groom," Figueras spoke of the experience, "I would take care of the horses and then go play in the matches. It was a low-budget gig." In

Bridgehampton, New York Bridgehampton is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) on the South Fork of Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 1,756 at the 2010 census. Bridgehampton is in the town of Southampton, on Long Island. Shortly aft ...

he joined White Birch, a team shared at the time by

Peter Brant Peter Mark Brant Sr. (born March 1, 1947) is an American industrialist and art collector. He is married to model Stephanie Seymour. He was also a magazine publisher until 2018 and a film producer. Early life and education Brant was raised i ...

and Neil Hirsch. He currently plays for and is captain of the BlackWatch Polo Team, a team he co-owns with Hirsch.

Modeling

When he was approached by the photographer Bruce Weber 12 years ago, at a dinner party held by Kelly Klein, ex-wife of Calvin, in

The Hamptons The Hamptons, part of the East End (Long Island), East End of Long Island, consist of the town (New York), towns of Southampton (town), New York, Southampton and East Hampton (town), New York, East Hampton, which together compose the South Fork ...

, he hoped modelling might help him buy more squirrelly mounts. "Then I realised that I could make extra money, and raise awareness of the sport." Nacho started modelling for

in 2000, eventually become the face of Ralph Lauren Black Label in 2005, and has been under contract since. In May 2009, he was made the face of the World of Polo fragrances, including Polo Black, Polo Blue and Polo Modern Reserve.

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

is also a label under the Ralph Lauren umbrella, offering tight polo shirts emblazoned with Nacho's number 2, an idea of Figueras' to make it a billion-dollar brand. In June 2009, he was voted the second most handsome man in the world by the readers of '' Vanity Fair'' magazine with 15% of the vote, far behind

Robert Pattinson Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson (born 13 May 1986) is an English actor. #Filmography, His filmography often sees him portraying eccentric characters across a diverse range of genres. Known for starring in both major studio productions and in ...

, who drew 51%, and ahead of

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. In a Brad Pitt filmography, film career spanning more than thirty years, Pitt has received list of awards and nominations received by Brad Pitt, numerous a ...

, who drew 12%. Despite his success in the modeling arena, polo continues to be his passion. He says his mission in life "is to bring polo to the world a little more," doing his best to raise the profile to the sport of polo however he can. To that end, he has helped organize matches such as the

Veuve Clicquot Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin () is a Champagne house founded in 1772 and based in Reims. It is one of the largest Champagne houses. Madame Clicquot Ponsardin, Madame Clicquot is credited with major breakthroughs, creating the first known Champag ...

Manhattan Polo Classic exhibition in Governor's Island,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

; the edition on June 27, 2010, also featured Britain's

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. As the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, he is fifth in the line of succession to ...

. In October 2010, Nacho Figueras co-hosted the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic with Cameron Silver in Los Angeles at Will Rogers state park attracting celebrities and socialites like Minnie Driver, Mischa Barton, Donovan Leitch and Rachel Zoe. He appeared as himself in the 44th episode of the CW television series ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...

'', third-season premiere "Reversals of fortune", aired in 2009. On September 28, 2009, Figueras was a guest on ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

'' in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. The show was titled "Meet the Most Famous People in the World". In one of the segments on the show, Nacho gave Oprah's reporter Ali Wentworth a private polo lesson. Nacho Figueras also makes frequent appearances in ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...

'' TV show as he is a great friend of the host

Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American former comedian, actress, television host, writer, and producer. She began her career in stand-up comedy in the early 1980s, gaining national attention with a 1986 appearance on '' ...

Personal life

Figueras has been married to fellow Argentine Delfina Blaquier, a photographer and former model, since 2004. The couple currently have four children, Hilario born in 2000, Aurora born in 2005, Artemio born in 2010 and Alba born in 2013.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

Profile on World Polo TourBlackWatch Polo TeamInterview Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Figueras, Nacho 1977 births Living people Polo players from Buenos Aires Province Argentine polo players Argentine male models