Eugenio Derbez Bio: In His Own Words – Video Exclusive, News, Photos

Eugenio Derbez is a Mexican actor, comedian, director and writer. He is known for his popular Spanish comedy shows like La Familia P. Luche. He is also known for his critically-acclaimed film  Instructions Not Included.  This Eugenio Derbez bio will allow the actor to tell his own story in his own words.

Eugenio Derbez Bio: Age, Parents, Early Life

Eugenio Derbez was born in Milpa Alta, Mexico on September 12, 1962 (Eugenio Derbez age: 61).  His mother Silvia Derbez was a famed Mexican film and telenovela star, who began her decades-long career at age 15. His father Eugenio González Salas was a publicist. He has one sister, Silvia Eugenia.

Eugenio Derbez: Early Career, Comedy

Like his famous mother, Eugenio Derbez began acting at a young age. At age 12 he was already appearing as extras in telenovelas. He appeared in the teen comedy series Cachún cachún ra ra! He also appeared in En Familia con Chabelo.

His first significant television role was in Anabel, where he had a recurring spot. Derbez’s film debut was in Por un vestido de novia. He continued to appear in various movies such as Fotógrafo de Modelos and Hembra o Macho. 

Derbez began hosting his own variety show, Al Derecho y al Derbez in 1992. In 1997 he directed his first telenovela, No Tengo Madre. In 1999 he hosted the comedy show Derbez en Cuando. He also created the sitcom XHDRbZ about a television channel that broadcasts comedy sketches. At the end of the series, he went on and expanded one of the popular sketches on the show La Familia P. Luche into its own full-scale television show which he also co-starred in.  In 2008 it won a TVyNovelas Award for “Best Comedy Program.”

Eugenio Derbez Bio: Critical Acclaim, American Market

Derbez appeared in critically acclaimed films such as Sangre de mi Sangre. The film went on to win the 2007 Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival. He also starred in the film La Misma Luna. He plays Enrique, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who begrudgingly befriends Carlitos, a nine-year-old runaway who crosses the border after the death of his grandmother in order to find his mother living in Los Angeles. The film was Derbez’s first non-comedy film role.

He has also starred in American films Jack and Jill, Girl In Progress and in the sitcom Rob!.

Derbez wrote, directed, produced and starred in the feature film Instructions Not Included. The film broke box-office records and became the highest-grossing Spanish-language film of all time. It made $44 million in the United States alone and over $100 million worldwide.

While Eugenio Derbez is one of the most well-known actors in the Latin American circuit, he is relatively new in the U.S. market. The 2017 film How to Be a Latin Lover was the first English-featured film he starred in.

“Well, I’ve been working my entire life for the Hispanic market. I know I’m a new face here in the U.S., but I’ve been working my entire life in Mexico and Latin America,” he told uInterview, commenting on his relatively new journey in the American entertainment scene. “My shows are airing every single week through Univision here in the U.S. in the Spanish language channel, and actually right now they’re airing my TV shows, so i have an audience already built. I started my career doing telenovelas as a dramatic actor. It was terrible. Nothing happened in my career. Then I switched to comedy, and my life changed, thank God. Then I moved here. Two and a half years ago I moved to the U.S. to start a career all over from zero. So I’m thrilled. I feel refreshed, excited, and this [How to Be a Latin Lover] is my first movie starring in English.”

He became acquainted with the stereotype of the ‘Latin Lover’ when he first moved to the United States and decided it would make a good basis for his film How to Become a Latin Lover. “When I came here I was trying to look for my first vehicle for the cross-over, and I discovered that there was this stereotype, ‘the Latin lover,'” he told uInterview. “For example, every time I was wearing a tuxedo here in the U.S. the anchors were like, ‘Oh! You look like a Latin Lover.’ So I realized that there was something funny there, like an international icon. ‘Latin Lover’ is something you can understand no matter where, if you were born in America, France, or Mexico, everyone knows what a Latin Lover is. So that’s why we chose that because the best way to break down a stereotype is to make fun of it, so that’s why we decided to go with the ‘Latin Lover’.”

Derbez’s more recent film work includes Overboard (2018) and The Valet (2022).

Eugenio Derbez Bio: Personal Life, Kids, Wife Alessandra Rosaldo

Eugenio Derbez married telenovela star Victoria Ruffo in 1992. The couple had a son José Eduardo Derbez, a Mexican actor. They divorced in 1997. In 2012 he married singer and actress Alessandra Rosaldo. Together the couple has three children, Aislinn Derbez, a singer and actress, Vadhir Derbez, and Aitana Derbez.