Who is Boris Vallejo? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Age: 83 Years, 83 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Julie Bell

Artists American Men

City: Lima, Peru

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Childhood & Early Life

Boris Vallejo was born on January 8, 1941 in Lima, Peru. His father was a well-known solicitor.

Vallejo's original interest was in the violin. He took violin lessons for seven years. After playing violin for much of his early years, Vallejo quit and decided to pursue medical studies.

After studying medicine for two years, he dropped out and applied to Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes. He received a scholarship to study art here for five years.

He quickly showed promise as an artist. When he was just 16 he was offered the chance to study art in Fiorentina; however, he turned down the opportunity. Instead, Vallejo put together a portfolio and immigrated to the United States in 1964.

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Career

Vallejo moved to New York City in 1964. He didn't speak English and had no money. All he had was a dream that his art would be more successful here than in Peru.

His first job was as an illustrator for a chain of stores. He excelled in his position and was promoted to the main office after six months. It is here where he met Doris, who would become his first wife.

After eight years as an illustrator he decided it was time for a change. He left his job and started freelancing. It was during this time Vallejo fell in love with fantasy art. He was introduced to the genre by looking at a comic book cover at a comic convention.

His specialty has always been the human body. The discovery of the fantasy art genre provided him an outlet for this talent. He quickly became a rising star in the industry.

His illustrations of fantasy action heroes such as, Conan the Barbarian, Tarzan, and Doc Savage led to a rapidly growing fan base. The movie industry took notice and he began receiving jobs for movie posters.

He also used this following as a springboard to get work in other avenues. He did advertising jobs as well as artwork for the collectibles of Franklin Mint Paraphernalia.

The 1970s was a busy decade for Boris Vallejo. He amassed over 300 credits in book illustrations, movie posters, and advertisement work. This solidified his place as one of the great fantasy artists.

Vallejo spent a good portion of the 1980s doing work on film posters. He did the posters for ‘Knightriders’ (1981), ‘Q’ (1982), ‘Barbarian Queen’ (1985), ‘National Lampoon's Vacation’ (1983), and ‘European Vacation’ (1985).

Presently, he spends most of his time collaborating with his wife, artist and model Julie Bell. The couple publishes an annual book of collaborative works.

Major Works

As Vallejo is an artist with a massive selection of works, it is difficult to pinpoint the best ones. One of his most significant paintings is ‘The Amazon Princess and Her Pet’. It won him an award as best artist from the British Fantasy Awards.

Another major work was his initial illustrations of Tarzan and Conan the Barbarian. These illustrations were responsible for building the buzz Vallejo used to launch his career.

Awards & Achievements

In 1979, he won a British Fantasy Award for best artist. It was for his painting ‘The Amazon Princess and Her Pet’.

Personal Life & Legacy

His first wife was Doris Vallejo. The couple met while Boris was working in his first illustration job. They had two children together, a son named Dorian and a daughter named Maya. Dorian followed in his father's footsteps as a painter and Maya is a professional photographer.

His second and current wife is Julie Bell. He has two stepsons with her namely, Anthony and David. Both of them are Science Fiction & Fantasy illustrators.

Trivia

Vallejo survived on very little money when he first moved to the United States. He paid $5 a week in rent and had very little money left to eat

Boris Vallejo Biography