Wilson Cruz

Wilson Cruz: Biography in Details

Who is Wilson Cruz?

Wilson Cruz is an American actor well known for playing Rickie Vasquez on My So-Called Life, Angel in the Broadway tour production of Rent and the recurring character Junito on Noah’s Arc, and Dr. Hugh Culber on Star Trek: Discovery.

Wilson Cruz is also a producer, activist, and singer.

He is an openly gay actor who has served as an advocate for gay youth, especially gay youth of color.

Wilson Cruz’s Early Life, Ancestry, Education

Cruz was born Wilson Echevarría on  December 27, 1973, in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was born to Puerto Rican parents and has two younger brothers.

At the age of 10, he along with his parents moved to  Rialto, California, where he attended Eisenhower High School and graduated in 1991.

He then attended California State University at San Bernardino, where he was pursuing a double major in theater.

Revealed his sexuality to his parents

At age 19, Cruz came out to his parents as gay, first to his mother and then to his father. His mother was initially hurt and shocked but eventually accepted the news.

His father, however, threw him out of the house, and Cruz spent the next few months living in his car and at the homes of friends. Later, he reconciled with his father.

Then Wilson Cruz moved to Hollywood seeking an acting career.

Wilson Cruz: Career in TV Shows

Cruz who was open about his sexuality from the beginning of his career was cast as Enrique “Rickie” Vasquez, a troubled, gay teen, in the short-lived, critically acclaimed cult classic TV series My So-Called Life.

This made Cruz the first openly gay actor to play an openly gay character in a leading role in an American television series.

In 1996, he played a small role in the television movie On Seventh Avenue.

In 2000, he played Victor in the final season of Party of Five.

He also had a recurring role as Rafael de la Cruz in the series, Raising the Bar.

He is credited for his guest appearances on the series Sister, Sister, and Ally McBeal, Great Scott!, The West Wing, ER, Noah’s Arc and Grey’s Anatomy, The Closer, Monk, NCIS, Pushing Daisies, Single Ladies, The Finder, Shameless to name a few, and 13 Reasons Why to name a few.

Movies

In 1995, Wilson Cruz went on to play J.Edgar Hoover’s servant Joaquin in Oliver Stone‘s film Nixon.

In 1996, he appeared with David Arquette as Mikey in Johns, about the day-to-day struggles of male prostitutes.

Cruz’s other appearance in movies includes Joyride (1996), All Over Me(1997), Supernova (2000), Party Monster (2003), Margaret Cho’s Bam Bam and Celeste(2005), Coffee Date (2007), and He’s Just Not That Into You (2009); the television film The Perfect Pitch (2002).

Cruz starred as Adrian in the film The Ode (2007), based on the novel Ode to Lata by Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla.

He also appeared/starred in the 2009 movie The People I’ve Slept With. He plays the openly gay best friend of a promiscuous woman who tries to find out who got her pregnant so that she can get married.

Awards and Achievements

Cruz was awarded the 1997 Drama Logue Award for Performance and the 1998 Los Angeles Stage Alliance Ovation Award for “Rent” for Featured Actor in a Musical for “Rent” in a Center Theatre Group production at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

Net Worth, Social media of Wilson Cruz

The 45-year-old actor’s net worth is estimated to be $2 million US.

Most of his earnings come from his acting. His annual salary is 50K.

Wilson Cruz has 76K followers on his Instagram and charges around $1000 per post.

On Twitter, he has 65.9K followers.

Body Measurements

Wilson Cruz has black hair with dark brown eyes. He is 5 feet and 9 inches tall and weighs around 75Kg.

Wilson Cruz as an activist

Wilson Cruz advocates on behalf of LGBT youth, especially youth of color.

He has volunteered as a host for the Youth Zone, an online community at Gay.com.

He was also the Grand Marshal of the 1998 West Hollywood Gay Pride parade and the 2005 Chicago Pride Parade.

In 2008, he was the keynote speaker at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Lavender Graduation and Rainbow Banquet honoring graduating LGBT students.

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Wilson Cruz's Birthday Dates