J.M. Longoria

J.M. (Jose Maria) Longoria III is a writer, producer, and Imagen Award-nominated actor. He was born and raised in the small town of La Grulla, Texas. J.M. attended Rio Grande City High School where he graduated Valedictorian of his senior class. After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.F.A. in Design and Certification in Business Administration, J.M. moved to Los Angeles to attended The American Academy of Dramatic Arts and began his acting career. J.M.'s acting credits include Sony Pictures feature film "Miracles From Heaven", ABC's "General Hospital", "The Fix", and "The Real O'Neals" among others. He was also the series producer of El Rey Network's "Bushido Battleground", a 20-episode mixed martial arts docuseries shot in Thailand, Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. This series was executive produced by renown filmmaker, Robert Rodriguez. Most recently, J.M. co-wrote, produced, and starred in a LGBTQ-themed short film entitled "Bibi" alongside Oscar nominated actress, Adriana Barraza, and actor Omar Leyva. The short film is inspired by J.M.'s real-life relationship with his father growing up in South Texas. Along with its film festival run, "Bibi" will also be distributed by national civil rights organization Southern Poverty Law Center as part of their "Teaching Tolerance" program in 2020. SPLC will create curriculum and use the short film as an educational tool available to over 500,000 educators across America. A passionate humanitarian, J.M. found a new cause to champion after working on the award-winning telenovela webseries "Sin Vergüenza". He became an advocate and ambassador for AltaMed Health Services. Among his duties is raising awareness about HIV prevention and educating the Latino community about AIDS resources. Additionally, J.M. served as a board member for several years of the oldest and most respected Latino arts nonprofit organization, Nosotros. Nosotros was founded by the late actor Ricardo Montalbán in order to develop, support, and spotlight Latinos in the entertainment industry.