Sebastián Ligarde (Spanish pronunciation:[seβasˈtjanliˈɣaɾðe]; born January 26, 1954) is a Mexican-American actor and acting coach best known for his work in telenovelas and the big screen. In his four decade career he has appeared in more than 25 TV shows and over 90 films - most of them in first billing.

In 2015, Ligarde portrayed "Dr. Raimundo Acosta" in theUniMás TV seriesDemente Criminal, in which his former studentEnrique Alejandro interpreted "Billy".^[2]

Born Amedee Gerardo Ligarde Mayaudon to Mexican-American father Amedee Ligarde Saenz, and Mexican mother Emma Armantina Mayaudon Lopez, this dual-national began his acting career inMexico in the playFortune and Men's Eyes in 1974. He obtained his first film role inSupervivientes de los Andes two years later. He graduated with a degree in film directing and a minor in acting from theUniversity of Texas at Austin, and then moved to Mexico to continue his acting career. Before finding steady work in Mexico, he appeared in various USA film and television productions withAlfred Hitchcock,John Hurt, andRichard Harris.

Ligarde became known in Mexico after landing the role ofMemo in the successful TV seriesQuinceañera in 1987. His very famous phrase "Serena Morena" has remained a public domain after two decades. From 1986 thru 2003 he remained an exclusive actor for the Mexican Television ProducerTelevisa. His popular roles in telenovelas such asLo Blanco y lo Negro,Entre la Vida y la Muerte,María la del Barrio,Salomé,Tú y yo,Belinda and most recentlyDemente Criminal have kept him a household name. Ligarde is usually seen playing the role of a villain, degenerate, or miscreant.

He was awarded theDiosa de Plata andEl Heraldo, both for Best Film Actor inEl Homicida. Ligarde has also obtained fourTVyNovelas Awards (Mexico's equivalent of anEmmy Award) forPobre Juventud,Quinceañera,Entre La Vida y La Muerte, and an Honorary Award in 2002. In 2002 theLeague of United Latin American Citizens named him "Sr. Internacional" for his contribution to that society and as "Honorary President of theRepublic of the Rio Grande" for his contributions to the state ofTexas.

In 2005, Ligarde played "Gonzalo Montero", the alcoholic antagonist inOlvidarte Jamás forVenevision. He also portrayed "Alan" and "George Smith" in their TV seriesMi Vida Eres Tu.

In 2006, he became the acting coach forVenevision and made a special appearance inAcorralada.

In 2007, Ligarde played the villain "Manuel" inTelemundo'sPecados Ajenos, where he reunited withSonya Smith from Olvidarte Jamás & Acorralada. That same year, and forTelemundo Productions, he also made two guest appearances in the TV seriesDecisiones.

In 2008, he played the antagonist "Santori" (aVatican City paid hit-man) in the mini-seriesGabriel. This project, made by Mega-Films, reunites him withChayanne whom he co-starred with in their first telenovela for both actors in 1986Pobre Juventud.

Ligarde has been teaching acting at Taller de Actuación Sebastián Ligarde since 2006 inMiami. He trains actors in film acting, and is the only known "Meisner in Spanish" teacher. After 35 years as an actor he now enjoys his own acting academy and has, for now, retired from acting.His past students includeThalía,William Levy,Jencarlos Canela,Enrique Alejandro,Elizabeth Gutiérrez,Alejandro de la Madrid,Julián Gil,Frances Ondiviela,Daniel Elbittar, and Sissi Fleitas.^[3]

In 2015, Taller de Actuación Sebastián Ligarde will also open inHouston,Texas.

In a 2013 interview withTVyNovelas magazine, Ligardecame out as gay, saying he has been in a stable relationship for the last 20 years. He credits performerRicky Martin, who came out in 2010, as his inspiration.^[4][5]

• Sebastián Ligarde atIMDb

• 1953 births
• Living people
• American male film actors
• American gay actors
• Mexican male film actors
• Mexican male telenovela actors
• Mexican male stage actors
• People from Laredo, Texas
• Mexican people of French descent
• Mexican people of American descent
• American male actors of Mexican descent
• American people of French descent
• Moody College of Communication alumni
• Mexican gay actors
• LGBTQ people from Texas
• Hispanic and Latino American LGBTQ people
• Male actors from Texas
• American male telenovela actors
• American emigrants to Mexico
• Hispanic and Latino American male actors
• Tejano people

• CS1 Spanish-language sources (es)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with hCards
• Pages using infobox person with deprecated parameters
• Pages with Spanish IPA