Juan Pablo Galavis
Juan Pablo Galavis Guinand is an American-born Venezuelan television personality and former professional soccer player. In 2013, he was chosen as the first [Hispanic and Hispanic and Latino Americans|Latino Americans|Latino] star of the ABC-TV reality show The Bachelor after 17 editions.
Early life and football career
Galavis was born in Ithaca, New York, to Venezuelan parents Saul Galavis and Nelly Guinand and is the second of three siblings; he moved with his family to Barquisimeto, Venezuela, when he was 2 years old.He returned to the United States to play soccer at Roberts Wesleyan College, where as of 2006 he was tied with two others for that team's third-highest number of assists. After several seasons playing as a midfielder in the Primera División Venezolana with Dep. Italchacao, Monagas SC, Aragua FC and Guaros FC, he joined Miami FC in February 2008.
Entertainment career
He left football after his 2008 season with Miami and began his career in the music business with promotional work in the Miami bar and club scene. Around this time, he also began working with Venezuelan musician/songwriters Frank Santofimio and Mario Donoso. They began promoting Venezuelan duet Chino y Nacho.Galavis began filming television commercials and had a short stint working as a television presenter for a Miami-based sports show, Mega TV's Mega News.
Galavís appeared as a contestant on the ABC reality-television dating competition The Bachelorette in May 2013, but was eliminated midway in the season. On August 5, 2013, ABC announced he would star in season 18 of The Bachelor, scheduled to premiere in January 2014. As a Latino, he was the first person from an ethnic minority to be chosen as a Bachelor after 17 previous editions.