Yitzhak "Aki" Avni ( he, אקי אבני; born ), is an Israeli

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

entertainer An entertainer is someone who provides entertainment in various different forms. Types of entertainers * Acrobat * Actor * Archimime * Athlete * Barker * Beatboxer * Benshi * Bouffon * Circus performer * Clown * Club Hostess/Host * Comed ...

and television

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

. He appeared in the movie '' Free Zone'' with

Natalie Portman Natalie Portman (born Natalie Hershlag, he, נטע-לי הרשלג, ) is an Israeli-born American actress. She has had a prolific film career since her teenage years and has starred in various blockbusters and independent films, receiving mu ...

. He also played the character Mohsen in the second season of the television series '' 24''.

Early and personal life

Yitzhak ("Aki") Avni was born and raised in

Rehovot Rehovot ( he, רְחוֹבוֹת ''Rəḥōvōt'', ar, رحوڤوت ''Reḥūfūt'') is a city in the Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Etymology Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu movement, ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, to Turkish-born

Sephardic Jewish Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

parents. While in school he began performing in various shows in his home town. When growing up he had a

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

ing career. He performed his military service in 1987–1988 in the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...

and was discharged with the rank of sergeant. He was married to Israeli model and actress

Sendi Bar Sendi Bar (sometimes Sandy Bar; he, סנדי בר; born April 5, 1976) is an Israeli actress and model. Sendi Baranes () was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to a Sephardic Jewish family. Her father is a Libyan-born Jew, whereas her mother is Israe ...

. They resided for several years in Los Angeles with their child. They separated after returning to Israel in 2008. Avni married Nicole Miller in 2014. They have 2 children, and reisde in

Herzliya Herzliya ( ; he, הֶרְצְלִיָּה ; ar, هرتسليا, Hirtsiliyā) is an affluent city in the central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it h ...

, Israel.

Entertainment and acting career

Following his military service, he joined an

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

troupe at a hotel in

Eilat Eilat ( , ; he, אֵילַת ; ar, إِيلَات, Īlāt) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan ...

, appeared in children's shows and

commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

, and trained at Yoram Levinstein's acting studio. His breakthrough arrived when he was elected to be a co-host on Arutz 1's ''Tossess'' youth

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...

. In 1992 he co-starred in the musical ''Lelackek T'toot'' (''Licking the Strawberry''), alongside

Aviv Geffen Aviv Geffen ( he, אביב גפן, born 10 May 1973) is an Israeli rock musician, singer, songwriter and the son of writer and poet Yehonatan Geffen and Nurit Makover, brother of actress Shira Geffen, and an alumnus of Rimon School of Jazz and C ...

in ''Naarei Hachof'' (''The Beach Boys'') and played a young homosexual man in Amos Guttman's last film, ''Chesed Mufla'' (''

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

''). In 1993 he appeared in the film ''Zarrim Balaila'' (''Strangers in the Night''). In 1994, with the launching of Channel 2, Avni began hosting the dating show ''Stutz'' (Fling) and the musical ''Pachot o Yoter'' (''More or Less'', Israeli version of

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...

). In 1995 he hosted the Pre-

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

contest with

Michaela Bercu Michaela Bercu ( he, מיכאלה ברקו; born ) is an Israeli model and actress. Early life Bercu was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to Ashkenazi Jewish parents who immigrated to Israel from Romania. She is an only child. Her father Armand (1925 ...

, participated in the film ''Sachkanim'' (''Actors''), in the musical '' Grease'', and starred in the play ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...

'' alongside

Noa Tishby Noa Tohar Tishby ( he, נועה טוהר תשבי; born May 1977) is an Israeli actress, writer, producer, and activist. As an actress, she appeared in a variety of American television shows and movies, including ''The Affair (TV series), The A ...

. He has hosted the Miss Israel Pageant and other beauty pageants. In February 2012, Avni led Israel's Public Diplomacy Ministry's ''Faces of Israel'' mission around the English-speaking world. This comprises 100 Israelis including "settlers, Arabs, artists, experts in national security, gay people, and immigrants from Ethiopia .. orepresent and defend the state". In 2019 he appeared alongside Nicole Raidman as her love interest in two music videos.ניקול ראידמן - צ'או בייבי // Nicol Raidman
YouTube. 19 September 2019

Filmography

*'' JAG'' *'' 24'' *'' Huff'' *'' My Mom's New Boyfriend'' *''

Damascus Cover ''Damascus Cover'' is a 2017 political thriller film, directed by Daniel Zelik Berk, from a screenplay by Berk and Samantha Newton. It is based upon the 1977 novel of the same name by Howard Kaplan. It stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Olivia Thirlby, J ...

'' *'' Time of Favor''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Avni, Aki 1967 births Living people Beauty pageant hosts Israeli Sephardi Jews Israeli male film actors Israeli male television actors Israeli male models Israeli television personalities People from Rehovot Israeli people of Turkish-Jewish descent Israeli Mizrahi Jews