Lou Diamond Phillips Bio
Louis Diamond Phillips (born February 17, 1962) is an American actor, director, and writer whose career spans film, television, theater, and literature. He first captured widespread attention when he starred as the pioneering rock and roll musician Ritchie Valens in the biographical drama La Bamba (1987), a performance that established him as a leading man in Hollywood. Over the following decades, Phillips built a versatile résumé across Westerns, action films, independent cinema, network dramas, and Broadway, while also taking on directorial and writing projects.
Beyond acting, Phillips has contributed to screenplays, authored a science fiction novel, and remained active in philanthropy and cultural advocacy. He is recognized for his long-running portrayal of Henry Standing Bear on the A&E/Netflix series Longmire and for his Tony-nominated Broadway turn in The King and I.
Early Life and Background
Born Louis Diamond Upchurch on February 17, 1962, at the U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay in the Philippines, Lou Diamond Phillips is the son of Lucita Umayam Aranas and Gerald Amon Upchurch, a Marine KC-130 crew chief who died when Phillips was just a year old. His mother was Filipina, while his father was of Scots-Irish and Cherokee descent, giving Phillips a multicultural heritage that has shaped both his personal identity and his career interests. After his father’s passing, his mother remarried, and the family adopted the Phillips surname.
Phillips was raised in Texas, where he graduated from Flour Bluff High School in Corpus Christi in 1980. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Drama from the University of Texas at Arlington, an educational foundation that prepared him for a professional life in the performing arts. Named after U.S. Marine Lou Diamond, he has spoken openly about embracing both his Filipino roots and his Native American ancestry.
Path to Acting
After completing his drama studies, Phillips pursued stage work and small on-screen roles throughout the early-to-mid 1980s. His earliest screen appearance of note came in a March 1987 episode of Miami Vice titled Red Tape, in which he portrayed detective Bobby Diaz. This television role arrived just as he was preparing for his feature film breakthrough, signaling his growing presence in Hollywood.
Phillips’s big screen breakthrough came when he was cast as Ritchie Valens in La Bamba (1987), a film that chronicled the short life of the pioneering Mexican-American rock star. The role quickly turned Phillips into a recognizable leading man and opened the door to a string of high-profile projects, including his acclaimed performance in Stand and Deliver (1988), in which he played the cholo gangster Angel David Guzman opposite Edward James Olmos.
Lou Diamond Phillips Career
Early Career (1984–1987)
Phillips began building his career in the mid-1980s with stage work and early television appearances, including the Miami Vice episode Red Tape in 1987. His first significant film opportunity arrived with La Bamba (1987), in which he starred as Ritchie Valens, the young rock and roll star whose life was cut short by tragedy. The role was both a commercial and critical success, earning Phillips immediate recognition as a talented newcomer capable of carrying a major biographical picture.
Even as La Bamba was being prepared for release, Phillips had already filmed Stand and Deliver (1988), a drama inspired by the true story of East Los Angeles math teacher Jaime Escalante. For his performance as Angel David Guzman, Phillips received an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male and a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, validating his range as a performer.
Breakthrough (1988–1998)
The same year as Stand and Deliver, Phillips took on the role of Old West outlaw José Chávez y Chávez in Young Guns (1988), co-starring alongside Emilio Estevez and Kiefer Sutherland. He returned to the role for Young Guns II (1990), although filming was marked by a severe injury when his leg was caught in a stirrup during a riding sequence, requiring emergency surgery to repair his right arm.
In 1996, Phillips made his Broadway debut as King Mongkut in the revival of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II’s The King and I, a performance that earned him a Tony Award nomination, a Drama Desk Award nomination, and a Theatre World Award. The following year, he appeared in Courage Under Fire (1996), and in 1998 he took on the role of Cisco in the comedy-action film The Big Hit opposite Mark Wahlberg, further demonstrating his range across genres.
Notable Works and Milestones
Among Phillips’s signature works are La Bamba (1987), Stand and Deliver (1988), Young Guns (1988), Young Guns II (1990), The King and I on Broadway (1996), Courage Under Fire (1996), The Big Hit (1998), and Brokedown Palace (1999). His television work as Henry Standing Bear on Longmire (2012–2017) and as FBI agent Ian Edgerton on Numb3rs cemented his reputation as a dependable presence on the small screen.
Lou Diamond Phillips Award Nominations
Lou Diamond Phillips has received several notable award nominations throughout his career, reflecting recognition from major industry organizations across film, television, and theater. He earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for Stand and Deliver (1988) and a Tony Award nomination for his Broadway debut in The King and I (1996), along with a Drama Desk Award nomination for the same role.
Lou Diamond Phillips Awards Won
Phillips has collected multiple career honors, beginning with his Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for Stand and Deliver (1988). He also won a Theatre World Award for his Broadway debut in The King and I (1996), and in 2012 he was crowned the winner of the Food Network’s Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off, earning $50,000 for his chosen charity.
| Award | Wins | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male | 1 | 1988 |
| Theatre World Award | 1 | 1996 |
Lou Diamond Phillips Family
Lou Diamond Phillips was born to Gerald Amon Upchurch, a Marine KC-130 crew chief of Scots-Irish and Cherokee descent who died in 1963, and Lucita Umayam Aranas, a Filipina woman. Following his father’s death, his mother remarried and the family adopted the Phillips surname. He has spoken about his bicultural identity and was formally adopted in 1991 by an Oglala Lakota Sioux family in a traditional ceremony, receiving the Lakota name that translates to Star Keeper.
Personal Life
Phillips married assistant director Julie Cypher on September 17, 1987, and they divorced on August 5, 1990. He was briefly engaged to actress Jennifer Tilly after meeting her on the set of Shadow of the Wolf (1992). In 1994, he married makeup artist Kelly Preston, with whom he had three daughters; the couple separated in 2003 and finalized their divorce in July 2007.
Phillips began dating makeup artist Yvonne Boismier in 2004 and married her in August 2007. The couple has a daughter named Indigo, born in October 2007, and they have collaborated professionally, with Boismier illustrating Phillips’s debut novel, Tinderbox: Soldier of Indira.
