Sebastián Ligarde (; born January 26, 1954) is a Mexican-American actor and acting coach best known for his work in telenovelas and the big screen. In his four decade career he has appeared in more than 25 TV shows and over 90 films - most of them in first billing. In 2015, Ligarde portrayed "Dr. Raimundo Acosta" in the

UniMás UniMás (, stylized as ''UNIMÁS'', and originally known as TeleFutura from its launch on January 14, 2002, to January 6, 2013) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television, free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. ...

TV series

Demente Criminal ''Demente criminal'' ( ) is a television series produced by Venevisión and Univisión. The series is based on the crime novel titled ''Sangre en el Diván'' written by Ibéyise Pacheco and is adapted by Rosa Clemente y Raul Prieto. The series i ...

, in which his former student Enrique Alejandro interpreted "Billy".

Biography

Born Amedee Gerardo Ligarde Mayaudon to Mexican-American father Amedee Ligarde Saenz, and Mexican mother Emma Armantina Mayaudon Lopez, this dual-national began his acting career in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in the play '' Fortune and Men's Eyes'' in 1974. He obtained his first film role in '' Supervivientes de los Andes'' two years later. He graduated with a degree in film directing and a minor in acting from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

, and then moved to Mexico to continue his acting career. Before finding steady work in Mexico, he appeared in various USA film and television productions with

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was an English actor. Regarded as one of the finest actors of his time and known for the "most distinctive voice in Cinema of the United Kingdom, Britain", he was described by David Ly ...

, and

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. Having studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he rose to prominence as an icon of the British New Wave. He received numerous a ...

. Ligarde became known in Mexico after landing the role of ''Memo'' in the successful TV series ''

Quinceañera In Mexico, Mexican and other Latin American cultures, it is customary to celebrate a girl's 15th birthday. In Spanish language, Spanish, the girl celebrating her 15th birthday is called a ; in English language, English, primarily in the Unite ...

'' in 1987. His very famous phrase "''Serena Morena''" has remained a public domain after two decades. From 1986 thru 2003 he remained an exclusive actor for the Mexican Television Producer

Televisa Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April ...

. His popular roles in telenovelas such as ''Lo Blanco y lo Negro'', ''Entre la Vida y la Muerte'',

María la del Barrio ''María la del Barrio'' (Literal translation, Lit: ''Maria From the Hood''/English title: ''Humble Maria'') is a Mexican telenovela produced by Angelli Nesma Medina for Televisa in 1995. The series is a remake of ''Los ricos también lloran'' ...

, '' Salomé'', ''Tú y yo'', '' Belinda'' and most recently ''

'' have kept him a household name. Ligarde is usually seen playing the role of a villain, degenerate, or miscreant. He was awarded the Diosa de Plata and '' El Heraldo'', both for Best Film Actor in ''El Homicida''. Ligarde has also obtained four TVyNovelas Awards (Mexico's equivalent of an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

) for ''Pobre Juventud'', ''

'', ''Entre La Vida y La Muerte'', and an Honorary Award in 2002. In 2002 the

League of United Latin American Citizens The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the largest and oldest Hispanic and Latin-American civil rights organization in the United States. It was established on February 17, 1929, in Corpus Christi, Texas, largely by Hispanic and ...

named him "Sr. Internacional" for his contribution to that society and as "Honorary President of the

Republic of the Rio Grande The Republic of the Rio Grande () was one of a series of political movements in what was then the Centralist Republic of Mexico, which sought to become independent from the authoritarian, unitary government of Antonio López de Santa Anna; t ...

" for his contributions to the state of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. In 2005, Ligarde played "Gonzalo Montero", the alcoholic antagonist in

Olvidarte Jamás ''Olvidarte Jamas'' (''Always on my Mind'') is a 2005 telenovela made by Venevision International in Miami that lasted 118 episodes. The telenovela starred Venezuelan-American actress Sonya Smith and Mexican actor Gabriel Porras. The telenov ...

for Venevision. He also portrayed "Alan" and "George Smith" in their TV series '' Mi Vida Eres Tu''. In 2006, he became the acting coach for Venevision and made a special appearance in Acorralada. In 2007, Ligarde played the villain "Manuel" in

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...

's Pecados Ajenos, where he reunited with Sonya Smith from Olvidarte Jamás & Acorralada. That same year, and for

Productions, he also made two guest appearances in the TV series

Decisiones ''Decisiones'' (, ''Decisions'') is a Telemundo-produced Spanish-language television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television s ...

. In 2008, he played the antagonist "Santori" (a

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

paid hit-man) in the mini-series ''Gabriel''. This project, made by Mega-Films, reunites him with Chayanne whom he co-starred with in their first telenovela for both actors in 1986 ''Pobre Juventud''.

Meisner Technique Teacher

Ligarde has been teaching acting at Taller de Actuación Sebastián Ligarde since 2006 in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. He trains actors in film acting, and is the only known "Meisner in Spanish" teacher. After 35 years as an actor he now enjoys his own acting academy and has, for now, retired from acting. His past students include

Thalía Ariadna Thalía Sodi Miranda (; born 26 August 1971), known mononymously as Thalía, is a Mexican singer, songwriter and actress. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Pop", she is considered one of the most ...

, William Levy,

Jencarlos Canela Jencarlos Canela (born April 21, 1988) is a Cuban-American actor and singer. Canela starred in the telenovela '' Mi corazón insiste en Lola Volcán'', and two other telenovelas. In September 2013, he began a new project called "Scan Me" on his ...

, Enrique Alejandro, Elizabeth Gutiérrez, Alejandro de la Madrid,

Julián Gil Julián Elías Gil Beltrán (born 13 June 1970) is an Argentine actor, model, businessman and TV host based in Puerto Rico. Personal life Although Julián Gil was born in Argentina, he lived some time in Venezuela as well. He grew up in Puerto ...

Frances Ondiviela Francisca Ondiviela Otero (born May 19, 1962), known professionally as Frances Ondiviela, is a Spanish-Mexican actress known for starring in the telenovela '' Acorralada''. Ondiviela was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. She studied theatre ...

, Daniel Elbittar, and Sissi Fleitas. In 2015, Taller de Actuación Sebastián Ligarde will also open in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Personal life

In a 2013 interview with

TVyNovelas ''TVyNovelas'' is a Mexican magazine published by Editorial Televisa on a monthly basis. Like soap opera publications in the United States such as ''Soap Opera Digest'' and '' Soaps In Depth'', it mainly carries coverage of Mexican and internat ...

magazine, Ligarde came out as gay, saying he has been in a stable relationship for the last 20 years. He credits performer

Ricky Martin Enrique Martin Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography incorporati ...

, who came out in 2010, as his inspiration.Sebastian Ligarde, Mexican Soap Star, Comes Out As Gay, Says He Was Inspired By Ricky Martin
/ref>

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ligarde, Sebastian 1953 births Living people American male film actors American gay actors Mexican male film actors Mexican male telenovela actors Mexican male stage actors People from Laredo, Texas Mexican people of French descent Mexican people of American descent American male actors of Mexican descent American people of French descent Moody College of Communication alumni Mexican gay actors LGBTQ people from Texas LGBTQ Hispanic and Latino American people Male actors from Texas American male telenovela actors American emigrants to Mexico Hispanic and Latino American male actors Tejano people