Andy Garcia Biography

Garcia's Cuban family fled to Florida when Fidel Castro came into power, and landed on American shores with nothing.

Forced to work bad jobs for a time, the Garcia family then built a million-dollar fragrance company from scratch.

Andy's attentions turned to acting when his school basketball career was cut short, due to severe illnesses including Hepatitis.

His first break came as a gang member on the very first episode of the popular TV series, 'Hill Street Blues'.

His film acting debut came in 1983, in 'Blue Skies Again', but he really caught the critics attention three years later, as a drug dealer in '8 Million Ways to Die'.

Brian De Palma's 'The Untouchables' brought Andy his major break. In 1990 Andy earned a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination, for his role as the illegitimate son of Sonny Corleone, in 'The Godfather, Part III'.

Seeing his removal from Cuba as involuntary, Garcia is proud of his heritage which influences his life and work. One such case is his portrayal of renowned Cuban trumpet player Arturo Sandoval in For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story (2000).

An extremely private man, he has been married to his wife Maria Victoria since 1982. The couple have three daughters.

Garcia has had a unique career of staying true to his own ideals and thoughts on acting. While some would have used some of the momentum he has acquired at different points in his career to get rich off lightweight projects, Garcia has stayed true to stories and films that aspire to something more.

September 1995 saw Andy's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and 'Night Falls on Manhattan', 'Ocean's Eleven' and 'The Man From Elysian Fields' (screened at the Toronto Film Festival) all reinforced Andy as an individual at the top of his profession.