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 free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. The network's programming, which i ...

TV series

Demente Criminal ''Demente criminal'' (English: ''Criminal Mastermind'') 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 Clement ...

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

Biography

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

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

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 research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...

, 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,

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...

, and

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, notably as Corrado Zeller in Michelangelo Antonioni's '' Red Desert'', Frank Machin in '' This Sporting ...

. Ligarde became known in Mexico after landing the role of ''Memo'' in the successful TV series '' Quinceañera'' 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 is a Mexican multimedia mass media company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April 2021, Televisa and Univision Communications announce ...

. 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'' ( Lit: ''Maria from the neighborhood''/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''. ''María ...

, '' Salomé'', ''Tú y yo'', ''

Belinda Belinda is a feminine given name of unknown origin, apparently coined from Italian ''bella'', meaning "beautiful". Alternatively it may be derived from the Old High German name ''Betlinde'', which possibly meant "bright serpent" or "bright linde ...

'' 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 Award The Premios TVyNovelas are presented annually by Televisa and the magazine TVyNovelas to honor the best Mexican television productions, including telenovelas. Instituted in 1983, the award ceremony rotates between Mexico City and Acapulco. The ...

s (Mexico's equivalent of an Emmy Award) for ''Pobre Juventud'', '' Quinceañera'', ''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 Hispanics ...

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 ( es, República del Río Grande) was an independent nation that insurgents fighting against the Centralist Republic of Mexico sought to establish in northern Mexico. The Republic of the Rio Grande was one of a se ...

" for his contributions to the state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. In 2005, Ligarde played "Gonzalo Montero", the alcoholic antagonist in Olvidarte Jamás 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 owned by Comcast. It provides content nationally with pr ...

Pecados Ajenos ''Pecados ajenos'' (''A Chance to Love'', literally "Other people's sins") is a Spanish-language telenovela written by Eric Vonn and produced by the United States-based television network Telemundo. This limited-run series was shot in Florida b ...

. 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 anthology of steamy melodramas about passion and sex in the modern world. The hour-long series features impassioned people thrust into amorous adventures and push ...

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

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

paid hit-man) in the mini-series ''Gabriel''. This project, made by Mega-Films, reunites him with

Chayanne Elmer Figueroa Arce (born June 28, 1968), better known under the stage name Chayanne, is a Puerto Rican Latin pop singer and actor. As a solo artist, Chayanne has released 21 albums and sold over 50 million records worldwide, making him one of ...

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 ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. 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 and actress. Referred to as the " Queen of Latin Pop", she is considered one of the most successful and influential Mexican artists. Havi ...

, William Levy,

Jencarlos Canela Jencarlos Canela (born April 21, 1988) is an 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 offic ...

, Enrique Alejandro,

Elizabeth Gutiérrez Elizabeth Gutiérrez Nevárez (born April 1, 1979) is an American actress and model of Mexican descent. She is best known for playing the leading roles in the telenovelas '' El Rostro de Analía'' and '' El fantasma de Elena''. Background Gut ...

, Alejandro de la Madrid,

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

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

Daniel Elbittar Daniel Elbittar Villegas (born April 30, 1979), is a Venezuelan actor, model and singer, considered one of the 50 Most Beautiful TV, is also famous for acting in telenovelas. Personal life Elbittar has been married since 2014 to Venezuelan ac ...

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

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Personal life

In a 2013 interview with TVyNovelas magazine, Ligarde

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

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

Ricky Martin Enrique Martín 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 spanning ...

, 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 LGBT actors LGBT people from Texas LGBT 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