Lior Ashkenazi (born in Ramat Gan, 1969), is an award-winning Israeli screen and stage actor.Lior ("Louis") Ashkenazi was born to Jewish immigrants from Turkey who moved to Israel in 1964. He grew up in the Neveh Yehoshua neighborhood in Ramat Gan. His father, Shmuel, worked as a printer. His mother, Victoria, was a housewife. His parents spoke Ladino at home. At the age of 16, in the wake of problems in school, he moved to Kibbutz Regavim.In the Israel Defense Forces, he served as a paratrooper. He studied acting at Beit Zvi. After graduating in 1994, he worked for Habima and Beersheba Theater. He starred in many plays at Beit Lessin Theater under the direction of Zipi Pines, one of his teachers at Beit Zvi. He also appeared with the Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv, although Beit Lessin remained his home base.Ashkenazi was married to actress Shira Farber. They have a daughter, Ellie. After his divorce, he had a long relationship with playwright and screenwriter Sigal Avin, which also broke up.He has also talked on Israeli television that he was once in a same-sex relationship.
