He was born as, “Andrés Arturo García”, on April 12, 1956, in Havana, Cuba. But you know him as “Andy Garcia.” Along with his lawyer- father Rene, his mother Amelie, and his older brother Rene, Garcia escaped from Castro’s rule when they fled to Miami, Florida when he was five years old. The family scraped by financially for awhile. However, after many years, Garcia’s industrious parents finally were able to open up their own thriving perfume company.
While García was in his senior year at a Miami high school, he developed a life-threatening illness. The illness made him physically unable to play basketball. Instead, Garcia decided to take up acting.
After graduating from high school, Andy Garcia majored in the theater when he attended the Florida International University. He soon moved to Hollywood, though, where he won some minor acting roles. His first big break came when he was cast as a gang member in the 1981 pilot movie for the NBC television series, “Hill Street Blues.” From there, he was able to win minor parts on other television shows.
The Cuban-born actor played the character of “Ken” in the movie drama “Blue Skies Again” in 1983. Garcia then went on to appear as “Ray Martinez” in the crime thriller, “The Mean Season” in 1985. The talented Andy Garcia kept busy working as an actor, and the following year found him in yet another crime thriller, “8 Million Ways to Die”. He played the role of crime boss “Angel Moldonado.”
Even though Garcia was able to play the role of a gang member and a crime boss with ease, he didn’t want to be typecast. So in 1987, he was able to switch sides when he played the part of an FBI agent named “George Stone” in “The Untouchables.” That role led him to star as “Doctor Ramirez” in the 1988 docudrama, “Stand and Deliver.”
By now, Andy Garcia was a well-sought after actor in Hollywood. He followed acting in “Stand and Deliver” with roles in “American Roulette” in 1988, “Black Rain” in 1989, “Internal Affairs” in 1990, and finally, “A Show of Force” in 1990.
Garcia is probably best known for his role as “Don Vincent ‘Vinnie’ Mancini-Corleone” in
Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather: Part II” in 1990. He played Al Pacino’s illegitimate nephew.
Although many other actors vied for the part, Andy Garcia was chosen because he looks like actor Robert De Niro, who played his father in the Crime-Drama. Garcia won an Academy Award nomination as the “Best Supporting Actor” for his portrayal of the wayward nephew.
“The Godfather” cemented Andy Garcia’s place in Hollywood, and he went on to play many other roles in a number of other movies. Most notably, he won roles in the 2001 Crime-Thriller “Ocean’s Eleven”, and in the 2004 sequel, “Ocean’s Twelve”, he played “Terry Benedict.”
The Cuban-born Andy Garcia is not only a talented actor, he is also a producer and a director.
He produced the documentary film “Cachao”, and then joined up with the performer to
record “¡Ahora Sí! Andy García Presents Cachao”. The album won the 2005 Latin Grammy for Best Traditional Tropical Album.
Andy Garcia favors privacy, and his off-screen life centers around his wife and their four children. He married María Victoria Lorido in 1982. Garcia met his future wife when the two were attending Florida International University. He is a devoted father to his three daughters Alessandra, Daniella, and Dominik. His devotion even won him the title “Father of the Year” in 1998.
