Jaime Camil

Jaime Federico Said Camil de Saldanha da Gama was born on July 22, 1973, in Mexico City, Mexico. His father, Jaime Camil Garza, is an Egyptian-born Mexican businessman, and his mother, Cecilia Saldanha da Gama, is a Brazilian singer. Camil earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Universidad Anáhuac and pursued acting training in New York, Los Angeles, and Mexico, supplementing his performance education with classical opera study in Italy. He speaks four languages: Spanish, English, Portuguese, and French.

Camil launched his career in 1993 as a radio commentator on Radioactivo 98.5. His television presence began in 1995 when he debuted as host of El show de Jaime Camil, followed by hosting roles on TV Azteca's Qué nochecita con Jaime Camil in 1996 and Televisa's Operación triunfo in 2002. He co-hosted Aventura por México with Javier Poza in 2009 and hosted the Mexican edition of El Gran Show in 2010.

His recording career began in 1999 with the album Para estar contigo, which took him on tour through major cities in Mexico, South America, and the United States. Following his participation in El Ultimo Adios, a tribute to victims of the September 11 attacks, he released his second album, Una vez más, in 2002. Two singles from that record, Dime and Muriendo por ti, reached numbers 17 and 24 respectively on Billboard's charts. Several of his albums achieved platinum status. In 2014, Camil directed the music video Perdon for the group Barston, marking his first time working behind the microphone in that capacity.

Camil's telenovela career began with Mi destino eres tú in 2000, followed by Mujer de madera in 2004. His portrayal of Fernando Mendiola in the romantic comedy telenovela La fea más bella, which aired from 2006 to 2007, earned him a nomination for Best Actor at the Premios TVyNovelas. He appeared in Las tontas no van al cielo in 2009 alongside Jacqueline Bracamontes, then traveled to South America for the Argentine-Mexican co-production Los Exitosos Pérez, in which he played twin characters. His 2012 telenovela Por Ella Soy Eva required him to portray a character, Juan Carlos, who disguises himself as an older woman. La fea más bella and Por Ella Soy Eva ranked among the three highest-rated telenovelas in Mexican recorded history. A guest appearance on Devious Maids helped push that series to its third-highest ratings. Beginning in 2014, Camil joined the cast of the CW comedy Jane the Virgin, playing Rogelio de la Vega, a telenovela star who is the biological father of the title character. The role earned him two nominations for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Camil made his film debut in Delfines in 1997. In a single year he co-starred in three productions: Puños rosas, Zapata, and 7 Días, the latter two released in 2004 and 2005 respectively. His performance as Tony in 7 Días earned him the 2006 Diosa de Plata for Best Supporting Actor. Subsequent film work included I Love Miami in 2007, the Chilean production All Inclusive, and two romantic comedies, Recien cazado and Regresa, both released in the winter of 2008 to 2009. He provided the Spanish-language voice of Barry in the animated film Bee Movie and dubbed the character Elliot the Mule Deer in the Spanish version of Open Season. In 2018, he voiced Panchito Pistoles in Legend of the Three Caballeros and took on the role of Don Karnage in the 2017 DuckTales reboot. In 2019, he voiced Globgor in the final season of Star vs. the Forces of Evil.

On the stage, Camil has worked extensively in both Mexican and American theater. In Mexico, he played Bernardo in a 2004 revival of West Side Story, a performance that won him the Palmas de Oro award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical. In 2007, he played the lead role of Father Silvestre in El diluvio que viene, which earned him both the APT and ACPT awards for Best Actor in a Musical. Additional Mexican stage credits include Captain Hook in Peter Pan in 2007 and the Genie in Aladdin in 2008.

His Broadway career spans from 1996 to 2005, with credits including Latinologues and Chicago. In 2005, prior to his Broadway appearance in Latinologues, he played Nestor Castillo in the Broadway-bound musical The Mambo Kings. In the summer of 2016, Camil played Billy Flynn in Chicago at the Ambassador Theater, in an extended run from May 31 to July 31. On television, he played Doc Lopez in the first season of Schmigadoon! in 2021 and returned as Sergeant Rivera in the show's second season in 2023. In 2023, he also began hosting the CBS game show Lotería Loca, based on the traditional Mexican game of chance. Camil is a co-founder and spokesman of the Short Shorts Film Festival Mexico, a role he has held since 2006. He divides his time between Los Angeles and Mexico City with his wife, model Heidi Balvanera, and their two children.