Yehuda Levi ( he, יהודה לוי; born June 29, 1979) is an Israeli actor and model. His breakthrough role was in the TV series ''Lechayey Ha'ahava'' (''Here's To Love'', 2001).

Early life

Levi was born in

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known 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 ...

, Israel. His father Yerachmiel Levi was born in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

to a family of Sephardi Jewish descent, whereas his mother Chaya (née Lichtenstein) was born in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

to a family of

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

descent. At age four, their family moved to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

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, Israel. During his

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

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 and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the tit ...

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 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 or the acronym HOT may refer to: Food and drink *Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality *Hot, a wine tasting descriptor 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 also has the lead role as a

Mossad Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...

trainer in the Channel 2 series, '' Mossad 101'' that began airing in 2015. His film roles include Jagger in ''

Yossi & Jagger ''Yossi & Jagger'' ( he, יוסי וג'אגר, Yossi VeJagger) 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 ...

''. 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 (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

and Renuar.

Personal life

Levi was previously in a relationship with the Israeli model

Yael Bar Zohar Yael Bar Zohar ( he, יעל בר זוהר; ) is an Israeli television host, model, singer and actress. Early life and career Bar Zohar was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to a Jewish family. Her Polish-born father Menachem Bar Zohar immigrated to Israel ...

and acted alongside her in the soap opera,

Ramat Aviv Gimel Ramat Aviv Gimel ( he, רמת אביב ג') is a residential neighborhood in northwest Tel Aviv, Israel. It is considered to be an affluent area with higher than average real estate prices. The neighborhood was planned and built in the 1970s. Cul ...

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

Ninet Tayeb Nati Ninet Tayeb ( he, נינט טייב; born October 21, 1983), commonly known as Ninet, is an Israeli musician, singer-songwriter, composer, DJ, model, actress, and a reality television program judge in '' Rising Star: Israel''. She is conside ...

, the first winner of the show

Kokhav Nolad ''Kokhav Nolad'' ( he, כוכב נולד) (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 Nol ...

. ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

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

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...

'' declaring them "Israel's

Brangelina A supercouple or super couple (also known as a power couple) is a popular and/or wealthy pairing that intrigues and fascinates the public in an intense or obsessive fashion. The term originated in the United States, and it was coined in the earl ...

". 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 ( he, רן דנקר; 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), '' ...

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

Ynetnews Ynet (stylized as ynet) is one of the major Israeli news and general-content websites, and is the online outlet for the '' Yedioth Ahronot'' newspaper. However, most of Ynet's content is original work, published exclusively on the website and wri ...

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

Shlomit Malka Shlomit Malka ( he, שלומית מלכה-לוי; born December 23, 1993) 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 ...

. They resided in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

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

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Levi, Yehuda 1979 births Israeli male film actors Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Israeli people of Bulgarian-Jewish descent Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Israeli male television actors Israeli male models Jewish male models Jewish Israeli male actors Living people Israeli Sephardi Jews