Andy Garcia Bio: In His Own Words – Video Exclusive, News, Photos

Andy García Bio

Andy García was born Andrés Arturo García Menéndez on April 12, 1956 in Havana, Cuba. His parents, René and Amelie Menéndez, left for Miami, Fla with a 5-year-old García and his brother René after the failed Bay Of Pigs invasion. In Miami, his parents built up a million-dollar perfume company.

García began acting his senior year of high school when he became ill with mononucleosis. He began taking drama classes with Jay W. Jensen, who was known as the “teacher to the stars,” who also worked with Jennifer Grey and Oscar nominee Mickey Rourke. García has cited Rourke as a friend and claims Rourke was his baseball coach. García began taking acting seriously at Florida International University, but soon moved to Hollywood to pursue acting as a career.

Andy García: TV Roles

García got his start on television, winning guest roles on ¿Qué Pasa, USA?, Archie Bunker’s Place and Hill Street Blues.

García went on to appear on several television programs throughout his career, including the first episode of Murder She Wrote, Foley Square, Frasier, Will & Grace and as the voice of Don Quixote on Dora The Explorer. García also appeared in the television films Clinton And Nadine, Swing Vote and Christmas in Conway. García produced and starred in the HBO TV film For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story as well.

Andy García Filmography

García’s first film roles were in 1983’s Blue Skies Again, Guaguasi and A Night In Heaven. He began to really get noticed after appearing in 1987’s The Untouchables.

García became a household name when he was cast in 1990s The Godfather III as Vincent Mancini. The role earned him a few award nominations, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Over the years García has appeared in dozens of movies, including Stand And Deliver, Internal Affairs, Desperate Measures, Black Rain, Oceans Eleven/Twelve/Thirteen, The Lost City, Smokin’ Aces, The Lost City, which he also co-wrote and produced, Five Days Of War and A Dark Truth. García has voiced characters too, such as Delgado in Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Eduardo in Rio 2.

In 2018, García starred in Book Club, and later reprised his role in the sequel Book Club: The Next Chapter. Also in 2018, he played Fernando in Mama Mia! Here We Go Again. In 2022, Garcia was featured in the comedy Father of the Bride, in which he acted opposite Gloria Estefan.

Andy García Interview

García talked to Uinterview exclusively about why he took the lead role in the film Five Days Of War. “I was stimulated by the story, and by the challenges of the character and I knew Renny [Harlan]’s work and I decided to do it,” García said. “I was sent the screenplay with an offer to participate, and it came in four days before I actually had to shoot the scene.”

García hoped people would get the right message from Five Days Of War, an action film about the Russia-Georgia War. “War is a brutal situation. The casualties are very widespread and last for years after the conflict is over,” García told Uinterview exclusively. “If the movie can somehow awaken that in somebody, so that the next time that somebody decides maybe we should get into a conflicted situation, they’ll think twice. It’s a utopian thought, but we need to respect each other, respect our boundaries and our individual rights of freedom and of expression, all those things.”

García starred in the “charming” comedy/drama City Island about a family hiding major secrets from each other. The film also costarred his eldest daughter, Dominik. García related to his character, an actor, difficulty during auditions. “All that sense of anxiety and not knowing what you’re gonna get into and really doing a terrible job with it and all that stuff, you know,” García said to Uinterview exclusively. I think being able to play that scene which was very uniquely written and constructed and it was a great opportunity for me as an actor to put myself in that situation as that character.”

Andy García Awards

García has been nominated for and won numerous awards throughout his career. In 1986 García came in 2nd place for Best Supporting Actor for his role in 8 Million Ways To Die. For The Godfather: Part III García was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. For the film When A Man Loves A Woman, García was nominated for an MTV Movie Award. He won a Golden Eagle Award in 1997 for Outstanding Performer In Film.

On September 19, 1995, García was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 2001 García was nominated for an ALMA for Just The Ticket. The film For Love Or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story earned him an Emmy, Golden Satellite and Golden Globe nomination in 2001.

García won his first ALMA in 2002 for his supporting role in Ocean’s Eleven and was nominated, along with the cast, for best ensemble at the Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards. García was nominated for the best audio commentary, along with Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, for the film. That same year García won the Imagen Foundation Award’s Creative Achievement Award as well as the Palm Springs International Film Festival’s Desert Palm Achievement Award.

In 2005 García was nominated with the cast of Ocean’s Twelve for best ensemble by the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards. García was nominated by the Imagen Foundation Awards for Best Actor in the film The Lost City and won the award for Best Director in 2006. That year the ALMA Awards awarded García the Anthony Quinn Award for Achievement in Motion Pictures. The next year ALMA nominated him for Outstanding Director for The Lost City.

In 2009 García was nominated for Best Actor In A Feature Film by the Imagen Foundation for Beverly Hills Chihuahua. In 2010 García was nominated for Best Actor for the film City Island by them and the Satellite Awards.

García shared a special mention by the Miami Film Festival for Magic City Memoirs with Aaron J. Salgado and J.D. Freixas in 2011, and in 2012 earned an ALMA nomination for For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada. In 2013 the same movie earned him a MovieGuide Grace Award for Most Inspiring Performance In Movies. At Middleton earned him the Festival Prize for Best Actor.

Andy García Dating History, Family

Not much is known about García’s dating life. García married Maria Victoria ‘Marivi’ Lorido in 1982. Together they have four children — daughter Dominik (1984), also an actress, Daniella (1988), Alessandra (1991) and son Andres (2002).

Andy García Personal Life

García has not returned to Cuba since leaving, despite an invitation to the Havana Film Festival and his desire to go back because he is opposed to the regime running the country and what they did to his family and its citizens. He lives in Toluca Lake with his family.

García identifies as a Republican politically.