Eduardo Torres Xol (born February 19, 1966) is an American actor, singer, television personality, designer, entertainer, social activist and businessman. He is most known to U.S. television audiences for his work as a designer on ''
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'' which formerly aired on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
.
Childhood and education
Xol was born on February 19, 1966. He is the oldest son of Eduardo and Mirna Torres. He grew up in East Los Angeles, California. His younger siblings are Mónica Cajayon and Ernesto Torres.
Xol was one of the youngest musicians to be scouted and selected to perform with the
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...
at the age of ten. By age 13, at the request of the
National Conservatory of Music of Mexico
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
, he also traveled on an exchange program to give a series of piano recitals.
During his teens, Xol joined the Braand Theatre Company to perform at The Palm Beach Club in Cannes, France. It was during this time that Xol made his feature film debut in ''Zoot Suit'' with
Edward James Olmos
Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an American actor, director, producer, and activist. He is best known for his roles as Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo in ''Miami Vice'' (1984–1989), ''American Me'' (1992) (which he also dir ...
while dancing with the Mexican Dance Theatre of Los Angeles. He enrolled in the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
theatre program. While there, Xol directed and produced several musical theatre comedy revues, which toured throughout the United States.
Early career
Xol headed south to Latin America, where he worked in music and television in Mexico under the stage name of "Edi Xol". He starred in several worldwide-syndicated
telenovelas
A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include ''teleserye'' (P ...
including ''
Acapulco, cuerpo y alma
''Acapulco, cuerpo y alma'' (English: ''Acapulco, Body and Soul''), is a Mexican telenovela produced by José Alberto Castro in 1995 for Televisa. It is a remake of the Mexican telenovela produced by Televisa in 1985, ''Tú o nadie''.
Patricia M ...
'', ''
Sentimientos Ajenos
''Sentimientos Ajenos'' (English: ''Feelings of Others'') is a Mexican telenovela produced by José Alberto Castro for Televisa. It aired on Canal de las Estrellas from Monday August 19, 1996 to Friday January 3, 1997, and it is based on radiono ...
'' and ''
La Jaula de Oro'' while producing music and videos.
His production company partnered with
BMG U.S. Latin
Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC (often referred to as Sony Music Latin) is a record label owned by Sony Music. The label focuses on artists of Latin music.
History
In 1979, CBS Records (now Columbia Records) ended its partnership with C ...
to produce his first solo album, ''La Pasión'', and the first single "Somos" ("We Are") was nominated for a
Lo Nuestro Award for
Video of the Year.
He represented the United States at the International Music Festival at Viña Del Mar, Chile. Soon, ''
Elle
''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...
'', ''
Harper's Bazaar
''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...
'' and ''Somos'' magazines featured Xol as one of Latin America's most eligible and gorgeous bachelors.
In 1998, Xol moved back to the United States as he transferred his experience in musical composition and entertainment production into the world of lifestyle and design. He began spending time with his father as he learned the art of caring for
bonsai
Bonsai ( ja, 盆栽, , tray planting, ) is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of ''penjing''. Unlike ''penjing'', which utilizes traditional techniques to produce ...
trees. It was this work with plants that solidified his design aesthetic and life philosophy.
Television
Xol joined the cast of ABC's internationally syndicated TV show ''
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'' as a co-star during Season 2. Series reruns began airing on
TV Land
TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division. Originally a spinoff of Nick at Nite consisting exclusively of classic television shows, the channel now airs a combination of recent and cla ...
on Tuesday August 7, 2007. The show is also in syndication on
CMT.
Partnerships
In addition to Xol's monthly column that he authored in ''
People en Español
''People en Español'' is a Spanish-language American magazine published by Dotdash Meredith that debuted in 1996, originally as the Spanish-language edition of its publication ''People''. As of 2009, it is the Spanish-language magazine with the l ...
'' and
AOL
AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017 ...
Latino, he has been featured and produced segments for ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'', and was named among the "100 Most Influential Hispanics in America" by ''Hispanic Business Magazine''.
In 2010,
Hayneedle
Hayneedle is an online retail company based in Omaha, Nebraska with a focus on furnishings and decor. In 2016, Hayneedle was acquired by Jet.com, which later became a subsidiary of Walmart.
History
Hayneedle began in 2002 when Doug Nielsen, ...
announced the launch of the Hayneedle.com Backyard Summer, a multimillion-dollar, integrated marketing campaign aimed at bringing variety to America's homes with Xol as its celebrity designer for outdoor design, outdoor living and landscaping. As part of the relationship, Xol executive produced and starred in a webisode series, ''Hayneedle Your Home''. The relationship continued throughout the fall with a new campaign, "Countdown to Company", in which Xol gave decorating and entertaining tips to prepare for guests during the holidays.
Xol has become a voice in both the
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
and English language markets, having partnered with companies such as the
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
,
Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
,
Waterford Crystal
Waterford Crystal is a manufacturer of lead glass or "crystal", especially in cut glass, named after the city of Waterford, Ireland. In January 2009, the main Waterford Crystal manufacturing base on the edge of Waterford was closed due to the i ...
, The Occasion Group/Taylor Corporation and
DirecTV
DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...
.
Books
HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...
published Eduardo's first book in the Spring of 2007 titled ''Home Sense'', which was awarded the Best Self-Help Book at the 2008 International Latino Book Awards. His second book, ''Extreme Entertaining Made Simple'', was published by the
Penguin Group
Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initial ...
in the fall of 2008, and focused on entertaining for the senses. It includes a CD of originally composed and licensed music.
Charity work
Eduardo Xol is a co-founder of the
ALUMI Media Group, a non-profit organization that brings alternative learning through media arts to students in underserved communities in the Los Angeles area.
Xol has worked with the
Lupus Foundation of America
The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA), founded in 1977, is a national voluntary health organization based in Washington, D.C., with a network of chapters, offices and support groups located in communities throughout the United States. The Found ...
to increase public awareness as part of the Band Together for Lupus Campaign.
Xol's sister Monica has been living with
lupus
Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Comm ...
for the past ten years. He recently created a garden oasis for his sister as part of his web-series for
Hayneedle
Hayneedle is an online retail company based in Omaha, Nebraska with a focus on furnishings and decor. In 2016, Hayneedle was acquired by Jet.com, which later became a subsidiary of Walmart.
History
Hayneedle began in 2002 when Doug Nielsen, ...
.
Xol is a supporter of the
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals i ...
(GLAAD) and has shot public service announcements as a part of the "Be an Ally & a Friend" public education campaign in both English and Spanish (with actresses
Sofía Vergara
Sofía Margarita Vergara Vergara (; born July 10, 1972) is a Colombian and American actress and model. She was the highest paid actress in American television from 2013 to 2020. and
Zoe Saldana
Zoe (also ZOE, Zoë, Zoé, etc.) can refer to:
*ζωή (''zōḗ''), the Ancient Greek word for "life"
People
* Zoe (name), including list of persons and fictional characters with the name
Film and television
* ''Zoe'' (film)
* ZOE Broadcast ...
). Xol has also recorded a public service announcement for the
Michigan Humane Society
The Michigan Humane is a private, non-profit organization providing animal welfare and sheltering services to the metropolitan Detroit area. Events at Michigan Humane are featured in the Animal Planet channel's reality television series '' Animal ...
and has worked in conjunction with
The Trevor Project
The Trevor Project is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1998. Focused on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth, they offer a toll-free telephone number wher ...
,
Starkey Hearing Foundation, and the
Make-A-Wish Foundation
The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of and 18 years old.
Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 and headqua ...
.
References
External links
Official Site*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xol, Eduardo
1966 births
Living people
American television hosts
American interior designers
American people of Mexican descent
Mexican male actors
Artists from Los Angeles
UCLA Film School alumni
People from Montebello, California