Johnathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo (born July 22, 1964,
Bogota,
Colombia) is a Colombian-American comedian, actor, and film producer.
Early life
Leguizamo was born in
Bogotá,
Colombia, to a
Puerto Rican father, Alberto Leguizamo, and a Colombian mother, Luz.
According to Leguizamo, his paternal grandfather was of
Italian descent
and his maternal grandfather was
Lebanese.
[Leguizamo, p. 11] He has also described himself as being of
Amerindian and
Mestizo heritage.
Leguizamo's father was once an aspiring
film director and studied at
Cinecittà but eventually dropped out due to lack of finances.
[Leguizamo, p. 9] When Leguizamo was four years old, his family emigrated to the
United States[Leguizamo, p. 12] and lived in various neighborhoods of
Queens in
New York City, including
Jackson Heights.
[Zook, Kristal Brent. "Comedy That Hits Close to Home; Now a Father, John Leguizamo Looks Back Without Anger", The Washington Post, July 19, 2001. Accessed June 11, 2009. "Born in Bogota, Colombia, to a Puerto Rican father and a Colombian mother of Indian ancestry, Leguizamo was raised in the multiethnic Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens."][Leguizamo, p. 16] Leguizamo attended the
Joseph Pulitzer Middle School (I.S.145) and later the
Murry Bergtraum High School. As a student at
Murry Bergtraum High School, Leguizamo wrote comedy material and tested it out on his classmates. He was voted "Most Talkative" by his fellow classmates. After graduating from high school, Leguizamo enrolled at
Long Island University C.W. Post Campus where he took theater classes.
