Yehuda Levi (; born June 29, 1979) is an Israeli actor, model and TV presenter. Regarded as one of the best performers of his generation in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, he is recognized for his versatile work across

independent films An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...

, television and the stage. He has received numerous accolades, including three Best Actor awards from the Israeli Academy of Television for his performances in ''

Yossi & Jagger ''Yossi & Jagger'' () is a 2002 Israeli romantic drama film directed by Eytan Fox about soldiers at the Israel–Lebanon border who try to find some peace and solace from the daily routine of war. The film has a sequel entitled '' Yossi'' ( ''Yos ...

'' (2002) and ''Very Important Person'' (2014 - 2019). He starred as Nadav Feldman in the Israeli crime series, '' The Arbitrator'' (2007 - 2014). He also starred in the Israeli television action drama series, ''

Mossad 101 Mossad 101 (, ''lit.'' The Seminary) is an Israeli television Action film, action Drama (genre), drama series that premiered on Channel 2 (Israel), Channel 2 on October 31, 2015. The series follows a fictional training course for the Israeli intell ...

'' (2015 - 2017), the

Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

drama series, '' Fire Dance'' (2022) and '' A Body That Works'' (2023-present).

Early life

Levi was born in

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally as Em HaMoshavot (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of the Old Y ...

, Israel. His father Yerachmiel Levi was born in

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

and his mother Chaya (née Lichtenstein) was born in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. At age four, their family moved to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

where his father worked at the time; a decade later, at age fourteen, they moved back to Israel. He graduated from the Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts in

Givatayim Givatayim () is a city in Israel east of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. Givatayim was established in 1922 by pioneers of the Second Aliyah. In it had a population of . The name of the city comes from the "two hills" on w ...

, Israel. During his

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

service, he was a commander of the

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind instrument, wind and percussion instruments. The conducting, conductor of a ...

of the Education Corps.

Career

He is an established actor, and came to the attention of the Israeli public through his soap opera roles. In 2002, he starred as a

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

soldier in the

Eytan Fox Eytan Fox (; born on August 21, 1964) is an Israeli film director. Biography Eytan Fox was born in New York City. His family Aliyah, immigrated to Israel when he was two. His father, Seymour Fox, was a Conservative Judaism, Conservative rabbi an ...

film, ''

''. The film initially premiered on Israeli television and Levin won the Best Actor award from the Israeli Academy of Television. In May 2006, ''HaAlufa'' (The Champion), a soap opera centered on a soccer team, premiered starring Levi as the main character and captain of the team "Hakoakh Yerushalayim" (Jerusalem Power). In 2014 he began playing a famous celebrity called Yehuda Levi in the

Hot Hot commonly refers refer to: *Heat, a hot temperature *Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality Hot or HOT may also refer to: Places *Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand ** Hot subdistrict, a sub-district of Hot Distric ...

TV series, ''A Very Important Man.'' He won two Best Actor awards from the Israeli Academy of Television for his performance in the role. He also played the lead role as a

Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...

trainer in the Channel 2 series, ''

'' that began airing in 2015. In 2022, he starred as a

rabbi in Rama Burshtein's television drama series, '' Fire Dance''. For the role, he was awarded the Best Actor award for an international series at

Series Mania Series Mania () is an international festival dedicated to television series, held annually in Lille, France. It is the largest TV series event in Europe and an important premiere platform. ''Series Mania'' comprises an institute of the same name ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 2022. A year later, he starred alongside

Rotem Sela Rotem Sela (; born 16 August 1983) is an Israeli model, television presenter, and actress; best known for starring as Noa Hollander on the Israeli television series ''Beauty and the Baker'' (2013–2021) and as co-host of the singing reality sh ...

in the Israeli

surrogacy Surrogacy is an arrangement whereby a woman gets pregnant and gives birth on behalf of another person or couple who will become the child's legal parents after birth. People pursue surrogacy for a variety of reasons such as infertility, danger ...

drama series, ''A Body that Works''. The series was Israel's highest rated drama of 2023.Surrogacy Drama ‘A Body That Works’ Renewed for Second Season (EXCLUSIVE)
''Variety''. 26 February 2024

Additional work

He was the spokesmodel of Israeli fashion brands

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

and Renuar. On 12 March 2023, Levi was announced as the new host of '' HaMerotz LaMillion'', Israel's version of ''

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality competition franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. ''The Amazing Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselv ...

'', replacing longtime host Ron Shahar.

Personal life

Levi was previously in a relationship with the Israeli model Yael Bar Zohar and acted alongside her in the soap opera,

Ramat Aviv Gimel Ramat Aviv Gimel () is a residential neighborhood in northwest Tel Aviv, Israel. History Ramat Aviv Gimel is an affluent neighborhood with higher than average real estate prices. The neighborhood was planned and built in the 1970s. Cultural ref ...

. In 2006, Levi got into a high-profile relationship with Israeli singer and actress

Ninet Tayeb Ninet Nati Tayeb (; born 21 October 1983), professionally known as Ninet, is an Israeli musician, singer-songwriter, composer, DJ, model, actress, and reality television judge on ''Rising Star (Israeli TV series), Rising Star: Israel''. She is reg ...

, the first winner of the show

Kokhav Nolad ''Kokhav Nolad'' (; meaning "A Star Is Born") was an Israeli reality television show searching for talented new vocalists, based on the British ''Pop Idol'' model. Since its debut on Israeli Channel 2 in 2003, Kokhav Nolad has become popular and ...

. ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

'' described them as "Israel's favourite celebrity couple", with ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...

'' declaring them "Israel's Brangelina". In 2013, after 8 years together, the couple broke up, stating that the breakup was mutual.Fans in Shock as Israel’s Favorite Celebrity Couple Announces Split
Haaretz. 21 August 2013 He has been described as one of the two most talked-about male stars in Israel (along with

Ran Danker Ran Danker (; born Khalil Yosef Danker on January 7, 1984) is an Israeli–American actor, singer and model. He starred in hit Israeli series such as ''HaShir Shelanu'' (2004–2007), ''The Gordin Cell'' (2012–2015), ''Miguel (TV series), Migue ...

), Tayeb's former partner.Ran and Yehuda: An unavoidable war, Raviv Golan

Ynetnews Ynet (stylized in all lowercase) is an Israeli news and general-content website, and the online outlet for the '' Yedioth Ahronoth'' newspaper. History Ynet launched on June 6, 2000, in Hebrew, following other Hebrew outlet's website launches i ...

, July 2, 2006 In 2017, he married Israeli model

Shlomit Malka Shlomit Malka (; born ) is an Israeli fashion model and television host. Earlier in her career she was credited as Shiloh Malka, but she has since been credited as her birth name. She has appeared in major international campaigns for L'Oreal, ...

. They resided in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. On June 6, 2021, the couple announced that they separated.Grapevine June 13, 2021: A pardon in suspense
The Jerusalem Post. 13 June 2021

Theater

* 1993: David * 1995: Carmen * 2004: ''

Tarzan and Jane ''Tarzan & Jane'' is a 2002 American animated adventure film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. Released on July 23, 2002, it is a direct-to-video spin-off to the Disney's 1999 animated feature film ''Tarzan'', and uses three then-una ...

'' - Tarzan * 2008: ''

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' is a sung-through musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice ...

'' - Joseph

Filmography

Film

Television

TV Presenter

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Levi, Yehuda 1979 births Living people Israeli people of Bulgarian-Jewish descent Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Israeli male film actors Israeli male television actors Israeli male stage actors Israeli male musical theatre actors Israeli male models Jewish male models Jewish Israeli male actors Jewish Israeli singers