Who is Yani Gellman? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Canadian Celebrities Born In September

Age: 39 Years, 39 Year Old Males

Family:

father: David Henry Gellman

Actors Canadian Men

Height: 5'9" (175 cm), 5'9" Males

Ancestry: Australian Canadian

U.S. State: Florida

City: Miami, Florida

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Childhood & Education

Yani Gellman was born on September 2, 1985 in Miami, Florida, US. His mother, Marilyn L, is an Australian and his father, David Henry Gellman, is a Canadian. During his childhood, Yani Gellman frequently moved with his family to places like Australia, Spain and Texas before finally settling down in Toronto due to the nature of his father’s job. Gellman holds a university degree with a major in political science.

Gellman considers his father as his driving force when it comes to his career in acting. When he shared his dream of becoming an actor with his dad, he was more than happy to encourage his son.

When his application for the Claude Watson Arts Program at Earl Haig Secondary School in New York got rejected, it was his father who persuaded the faculty members to accept Gellman's application.

Yanithen attended the arts program which helped him to grow as an actor. For him, it was a life defining experience as he was exposed to an exceptional group of aspiring artists. Two of his classmates, Ennis Esmer and Aaron Abrams, went on to become award-winning actors. The three still share a cordial relationship with each other.

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Career

Gellman started his acting career right from his teens. He first appeared in a couple of episodes of the horror series ‘Goosebumps’ in 1998. The same year, he was featured in an episode of ‘Animorphs’, an audiobook composed by the author couple, Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant.

He made his cinematic debut in 2000 with the movie, ‘Urban Legends: Final Cut’. The following year, he was seen in a supporting role in the film ‘Jason X’. In 2001, he acted in a TV movie titled ‘Children of My Heart’ in which he played the role of Mederic. He was also seen as Pablo in the telefilm, ‘The Matthew Shepard Story’. In 2002, he landed the lead role of Michael Medina in the TV series, ‘Guinevere Jones’. He then played the recurring role of Ryder in 8 episodes of the comedy series, ‘Wild Card’.

He rose to fame after appearing as Hilary Duff’s love interest in the 2003 film ‘The Lizzie McGuire Movie’. From 2006 to 2007, he starred as Antonio in the Canadian fantasy series, ‘Monster Warriors’. He did a minor role in the TV film ‘Degrassi Goes Hollywood’, and played the role of Pete in 3 episodes of the 2010 rom-com ‘Greek’.

He landed a significant role of Rafael Torres in the epic fiction series, ‘The Young and the Restless’. He was associated with this long-running show from 2008 to 2011. Gellman was just 24 when he got the opportunity to portray Rafael Torres, a classy and sophisticated lawyer.

The role required him to display the characteristics of an experienced lawyer, which proved to be a challenge. The character had one more striking feature, his sexual orientation. For Gellman, it now meant that he had to display the characteristics of a gay as well. Despite being offered a challenging role, Gellman did an amazing job and pulled it off with ease.

In the year 2012, he was cast as Diego Flores, a free-spirited Venice Beach boy, in the series‘90210’ which was a reprised version of the hit 90s drama, ‘Beverly Hills 90210’.

Gellman caught the attention of many when he portrayed Garrett Reynolds in ‘Pretty Little Liars’. His acting skills were highly acclaimed by the critics. Affectionately called as ‘PLL’ by the fans, the show gained momentum right after its first season, which was aired in 2010. The show had every element required to make it a successful entertaining drama.

The show displayed some good looking characters with amazing fashion sense and hence Gellman was a perfect fit. The audience enjoyed his presence in the show for the first three seasons until his character was murdered. In 2012, he played the same character in a single episode of the web series ‘Pretty Dirty Secrets’, which was based on the much loved TV show.

He was so popular for playing Garrett Reynolds in ‘Pretty Little Liars’ that he was offered similar characters in a couple of investigation shows, ‘Castle’ and ‘Major Crimes’. In both the shows, he appeared in guest roles. Another character played by Gellman, which is worth mentioning, is of Louis in the movie ‘47 Meters Down’, which was released in 2017. He also played the male lead in a television movie titled, ‘Courting Danger’, produced by the Canadian distribution company, Incendo.

Yani Gellman Biography