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Jesús Vázquez Biography
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Jesús Vázquez was born in 1965 in the Atlantic port city of Ferrol in Spain's autonomous Galicia region. The popular Spanish TV presenter went to university to study veterinary sciences, but moved after his third year to the Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático to pursue a growing interest in the stage.
At this time, Vázquez also began to work in the theatre and appeared in films. And he tried his hand at music - his first record went gold, selling more than 50,000 copies. With his good looks and physique, he was also in demand as a model, working in Spain and Japan for major fashion companies, including Hugo Boss.
His professional TV career kicked off in the 1990s, when he began hosting a programme on Telecinco called "La Quinta March," with Spanish actress Penélope Cruz, who since gone on to become an international movie star.
Today, Vázquez is one of the most popular and respected TV personalities in Spain, winning multiple awards over the years for his work as a presenter and for his versatility and communication skills. He works mainly for Telecinco, Spain's most popular channel.
Over the years, Vázquez became more and more interested in humanitarian affairs and he also started to publicly support gay rights. In 2005, he supported an Amnesty International campaign to counter violence against homosexuals.
The following year, he began actively supporting the work of UNHCR - he paid a field visit to the world's biggest refugees complex, Dadaab, in north-east Kenya. He was formally appointed a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador in July 2008 and has since made field trips and actively helped raise awareness about refugees and funds for the refugee agency's work.