Andy García facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Andy García
García in 2024
Born	Andrés Arturo García Menéndez (1956-04-12) April 12, 1956 (age 69) Havana, Cuba
Citizenship	United States
Alma mater	Florida International University
Occupation	Actor director producer
Years active	1978–present
Spouse(s)	Marivi Lorido García ​ (m. 1982)​
Children	4, including Dominik García-Lorido

Andrés Arturo García Menéndez (born April 12, 1956) is an American actor, director and producer. He first rose to prominence acting in Brian De Palma's The Untouchables (1987) alongside Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and Robert De Niro. He continued to act in films such as Stand and Deliver (1988), and Internal Affairs (1990). He then costarred in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part III (1990) as Vincent Mancini, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

He continued to act in Hollywood films such as Stephen Frears' Hero (1992), the romantic drama When a Man Loves a Woman (1994), and the action thriller Desperate Measures (1998). In 2000, he produced and acted in the HBO television film, For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story (2000), where he received a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award nominations. He also starred in Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven (2001) and its sequels, Ocean's Twelve (2004) and Ocean's Thirteen (2007). In 2005, García directed and starred in the film The Lost City alongside Dustin Hoffman and Bill Murray. He also starred in New York, I Love You (2008), the dramedy City Island (2009), the romantic comedy At Middleton (2013), and the crime thriller Kill the Messenger (2014). He has had supporting roles in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Book Club, The Mule, the HBO television movie My Dinner with Hervé (all 2018), and the title role in the Father of the Bride remake (2022).

In 2005, he won both a Grammy and a Latin Grammy Award for producing Cuban musician Cachao's record ¡Ahora Sí!

Early life

García was born Andrés Arturo García Menéndez in Havana, Cuba. His mother, Amelie Menéndez, was a teacher of English and his father, René García Núñez, was an attorney in Cuba. García has two older siblings, a sister named Tessi and a brother named René. His family moved to Miami, Florida, when García was 5 years old after the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion. Over a period of several years, they built up a million-dollar perfume/fragrance company. García was raised as a Roman Catholic and attended Miami Beach Senior High School, where he played on the basketball team. During his last year in high school, he became ill with mononucleosis, which convinced him to pursue a career in acting. He began his acting career by taking a drama class with Jay W. Jensen in his senior year. He graduated from Florida International University.

Career

1980s

García began acting at Florida International University but soon went to Hollywood. He had a short role alongside Angela Lansbury in the first episode of Murder, She Wrote as "1st white tough", in 1984. He played the role of a gang member in the first episode of TV series Hill Street Blues. He appeared in a supporting role in The Mean Season in 1985, alongside Kurt Russell.

In 1987, Garciá received an acting breakthrough in Brian De Palma's crime drama The Untouchables. The film starred Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Charles Martin Smith, Patricia Clarkson, and Robert De Niro. The film, adapted by David Mamet, film follows Eliot Ness as he forms the Untouchables law enforcement team to bring Al Capone to justice during Prohibition era within the United States. The film received widespread critical acclaim and was a financial success. The film received four Academy Award nominations including a win for Connery's performance.

In 1989, García acted in the Ridley Scott action thriller Black Rain with Michael Douglas. The film received mixed reviews from critics but was a financial success earning $134 million.

1990s

In 1989, Francis Ford Coppola cast García as Vincent Mancini, the illegitimate son of Sonny Corleone, in The Godfather Part III (1990). The film stars Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, and Eli Wallach. The film concludes the story of Michael Corleone, the patriarch of the Corleone family, who attempts to legitimize his criminal empire. The film also includes fictionalized accounts of two real-life events: the 1978 death of Pope John Paul I and the Papal banking scandal of 1981–82, both linked to Michael Corleone's business affairs. Despite the film being both a critical and financial success, it has not lived up to the reputation of the first two Godfather films. However, the film did earn seven Academy Award nominations including for Best Picture. García himself earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his performance, as well as a Golden Globe Award nomination.

In the 1990s, García appeared in the Mike Figgis film Internal Affairs, in which he engages in a battle of wits with a corrupt fellow police officer, played by Richard Gere. In 1992, he played a cynical everyman in Stephen Frears' Hero starring Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis, and Joan Cusack. ..... In 1995, he portrayed a tragic criminal in Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead alongside Christopher Lloyd, Steve Buscemi and Christopher Walken. He also starred as a hotshot lawyer in the Sidney Lumet drama Night Falls on Manhattan alongside Richard Dreyfus, and James Gandolfini. In 1998 he played a cop trying to save his gravely ill son in the action thriller Desperate Measures starring Michael Keaton, and Marcia Gay Harden. He played mobster Lucky Luciano in Hoodlum alongside Tim Roth, and Laurence Fishburne.

2000s

At the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival with Julianna Margulies (left) and his daughter Dominik García-Lorido

In 2000, García starred and produced the HBO film, For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story. The film shines a light on the jazz scene in Cuba and the life of trumpeter and composer Arturo Sandoval. The project also starred Gloria Estefan as Maria, and Charles S. Dutton as jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie. For his performance he received Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations.

He portrayed the arrogant Las Vegas casino owner Terry Benedict in Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven (2001), a remake of the 1960 Rat Pack caper movie starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Julia Roberts. The film was a massive commercial success earning $450 million at the box office. He also appeared in the sequel, Ocean's Twelve (2004) and in the third film, Ocean's Thirteen (2007).

He co-wrote, directed, and starred in The Lost City alongside Dustin Hoffman and Bill Murray. In 2006, he appeared in the last episode of the Turkish TV series Kurtlar Vadisi, along with Sharon Stone. In 2008, he starred in the first segment of New York, I Love You which was directed by Jiang Wen starring Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson.

2010s

García has been slated to direct the film Hemingway & Fuentes about famous writer Ernest Hemingway, co-written by García and Hemingway's niece Hilary Hemingway. Originally, announced stars included Anthony Hopkins, Annette Bening and García himself. Filming was originally to have begun in January 2013, but due to delays, Hopkins left the project and García announced that the role of Hemingway would be played by actor Jon Voight.

García has had a recent career resurgence in film. He starred in four films in 2018. He starred in the critical and box office success Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again as Fernando Cienfuegos alongside Cher, Amanda Seyfried, Lily James, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgaard and Pierce Brosnan. The film is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critics consensus reading, "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again doubles down on just about everything fans loved about the original -- and my my, how can fans resist it?" When asked about singing with Cher, García told NBC's Today show, "It was sublime. One thing is to act with Cher who is a great actress and then to be asked to sing with her".

García also starred in the Paramount romantic comedy, Book Club, alongside Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, Jane Fonda and Mary Steenburgen. The film was a box office success grossing over $89 million worldwide against its $10 million budget.

He also starred in Clint Eastwood's drama film, The Mule alongside Eastwood, Bradley Cooper, Dianne Wiest, Laurence Fishburne and Michael Peña. It has grossed $166 million and received positive reviews from critics, who called it "poignant and charming" and praised Eastwood's performance.

He also appeared in the acclaimed HBO movie My Dinner with Hervé alongside Peter Dinklage and Jamie Dornan. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 83% with the site's critical consensus reading, "My Dinner with Hervé offers a standard narrative on celebrity and infamy but formidable performances by Peter Dinklage and Jamie Dornan find the dimensionality and pathos of Hervé Villechaize the man." The film received a Critics Choice Television Award nomination for Best Movie/Miniseries.

2020s

In 2020, García starred in Charles McDougall's comedic film Ana. Also that year, he starred in Thor Freudenthal's critically acclaimed coming of age drama Words on Bathroom Walls. The following year, he made an uncredited cameo in the comedy film Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar starring Kirsten Wiig and Jamie Dornan. That same year, he starred in the action films Redemption Day and the Guy Ritchie film Wrath of Man.

In 2022 he starred in the comedy Big Gold Brick. He also starred opposite Gloria Estefan again in the romantic comedy HBO Max film Father of the Bride. It is the third filmed version of the 1949 novel of the same name by Edward Streeter.Time praised García on his comedic turn writing, "Garcia carries the film ably with his gruff elegance".

García appeared in the action comedy film Expend4bles as Marsh, a CIA agent who is also a double agent and the main antagonist of the film.

Personal life

Garcia met his now wife, Marivi Lorido, when they were both students at Florida International University during the mid-'70s when they first saw each other in a Miami nightclub. The couple dated for seven years before tying the knot on September 24, 1982. The family divides their time between Toluca Lake, Los Angeles and Key Biscayne, Florida.

The couple shares four children: Dominik García-Lorido, Daniella, Alessandra, and Andrés. Dominik was born on August 16, 1983, in Miami, Florida. She is married to Michael Doneger. Daniella was born on January 3, 1988, in Los Angeles, California. She is married to actor Stephen Borrello and the couple has a daughter named Violette Rose. Alessandra was born on June 20, 1991, in Los Angeles. The fourth child and only son, Andres, was born on January 28, 2002. Andres has gone on to become an established DJ across Los Angeles and Miami.

García has often expressed his distaste for the communist regime that has ruled Cuba since the revolution. Following Fidel Castro's death in November 2016, García criticized his legacy, stating: "It is necessary for me to express the deep sorrow that I feel for all the Cuban people...that have suffered the atrocities and repression caused by Fidel Castro and his totalitarian regime."

In 2018, García attended a fundraiser event for Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, which raised $60 million. Following the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel in 2023 that killed 1,200, García signed an open letter by Creative Community for Peace condemning the killings and calling the world to "stand with Israel as it defends itself against a terrorist regime in Gaza that seeks Israel’s destruction."

García is Catholic, and a naturalized citizen of the United States.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Miscellaneous awards

Other honors

• 1995: Received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
• 2002: Desert Palm Achievement Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival
• 2006: Received the Anthony Quinn Award for Achievement in Motion Pictures from The American Latino Media Arts Award
• 2019: Medalla de Oro al Mérito en las Bellas Artes

See also

In Spanish: Andy García para niños

• List of Cuban Americans
• List of people from Miami