Justin Baldoni

Baldoni was born in Los Angeles, California, and was raised in Medford, Oregon, to parents Sharon (née Solomon) and Samuel Baldoni. His mother is Jewish, born to Ashkenazi Jewish parents, making him Jewish according to Halakha (Jewish law), which follows matrilineal descent. His father is from an Italian Catholic background. Baldoni's parents converted to the Baháʼí Faith before he was born but celebrated both Christmas and Hanukkah in honor of their Jewish and Catholic ancestry. He was raised in the Baháʼí Faith and has gone on several Baháʼí pilgrimages to Haifa., and was a radio disc jockey at a local top 40 radio station. While moving into a new apartment building, Baldoni met a manager who advised him to pursue a career in acting. He attended college at California State University, Long Beach on a partial athletic scholarship, but later dropped out. In December 2024, Baldoni alleged he had "experienced sexual trauma" in a previous relationship when he was attending university. He said that he "wrestled with that trauma for the rest of my life, because in my head a man can't experience sexual trauma at the hands of a woman." == Career ==

2004–2018: Early roles and Jane the Virgin Baldoni made his acting debut in the soap opera The Young and the Restless in 2004. In 2008, Baldoni wrote, produced, and directed his first music video that was selected and won him his first "Audience Choice Award" at Dawn Breakers International Film Festival. In 2012, Baldoni created a digital documentary series, My Last Days, a show about living—as told by the dying. The show eventually became one of the most-watched YouTube documentary series streamed online. The second season of My Last Days aired on CW and third season was released in the winter of 2018. On the heels of that success Baldoni founded Wayfarer Entertainment, a digital media studio focused on disruptive inspiration. In December 2018, Baldoni spoke at the annual End Well Symposium about why he believes that thinking about our death can help us live better. From 2014 to 2019, Baldoni played Rafael Solano in the CW satirical telenovela Jane the Virgin starring opposite Gina Rodriguez. In May 2016, he, along with Travis Van Winkle and Travis Clark, attempted to launch a time-lapse video app for pregnant people to coincide with the finale of Jane the Virgin. In 2018 he played a young Barry Minkow in the crime drama Con Man, directed by Bruce Caulk. 2019–present: Expansion to directing Baldoni directed and produced CBS Films' Five Feet Apart, starring Cole Sprouse and Haley Lu Richardson, and based on an original script by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis. The film was released on March 15, 2019, and chronicles the lives of two teenagers living with cystic fibrosis. The film was a financial success but received mixed reviews. The following year he directed and produced Clouds, a film depicting the life of musician Zach Sobiech with Warner Bros. On May 14, 2020, it was announced Disney+ had acquired distribution rights to the film from Warner Bros., in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the film industry. It was released on October 16, 2020. In 2024, Baldoni directed, produced, and starred in the romantic drama It Ends with Us, based on Colleen Hoover's novel of the same name. In the film, in which he acted opposite Blake Lively, Baldoni portrays a neurosurgeon who is a domestic abuser. The film became a box office hit, earning over $350 million, but received mixed reviews from critics. In December 2024, Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, alleging she experienced sexual harassment during filming from Baldoni and others associated with Wayfarer Studios and that there was a subsequent smear campaign from Baldoni and his associates. In 2024, he produced the romantic comedy A Nice Indian Boy, starring Jonathan Groff and Karan Soni. The film follows an Indian doctor, played by Soni, who brings his white boyfriend, played by Groff, to meet his traditional parents. Though it had a modest release and box-office turn worldwide , it was met with universal acclaim by critics. In 2025, the Wayfarer Studios backed film Eleanor the Great, directed by Scarlett Johansson and starring June Squibb, had its world premiere at Cannes Film Festival. Baldoni served as executive producer. 2025 also saw the release of the action-comedy Code 3, directed by Christopher Leone, which Baldoni also produced through Wayfarer. Representation The talent agency, WME, signed Baldoni in March 2019. The agency, which also represents Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, dropped Baldoni in December 2024, following news of Lively's complaint. Baldoni has alleged that Reynolds and Lively pressured the agency to drop him, which the agency denied. In April 2026, WME released a public statement in support of Lively's case, stating it, “helped expose the devastating harm caused by covert digital takedown campaigns designed to intimidate, discredit, and drown out the truth.” == The New York Times lawsuit ==

On December 22, 2024, The New York Times' published Megan Twohey, Mike McIntire, and Julie Tate investigative reporting related to Lively's complaint. They reported Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath hired crisis management experts to "destroy" Lively's reputation through social media campaigns and strategic media placement. Baldoni denied the accusations, and his lawyer, Bryan Freedman, produced a statement describing Lively's claims as "completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious." In response to their reporting on the allegations by Lively, Justin Baldoni filed a libel lawsuit for $250 million against The Times. Baldoni's lawyer stated, "In this vicious smear campaign fully orchestrated by Blake Lively and her team, the New York Times cowered to the wants and whims of two powerful 'untouchable' Hollywood elites, disregarding journalistic practices and ethics once befitting of the revered publication by using doctored and manipulated texts and intentionally omitting texts which dispute their chosen PR narrative." The New York Times defended its reporting, stating, "The role of an independent news-organization is to follow the facts where they lead. Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article." This lawsuit was dismissed in June 2025 as the judge found Baldoni had not shown that paper, "acted with actual malice — the legal standard a public figure like Mr. Baldoni must meet to prove libel — in publishing the article." In September 2025, the New York Times filed a lawsuit against Baldoni's production company to recoup legal costs under New York State's anti-SLAPP laws. == Other ventures ==

award ceremony Man Enough projects In July 2017, Variety announced that Baldoni was developing a talk show through his media company Wayfarer Entertainment. The show, entitled Man Enough, is described as a disruptive panel series that explores what it means to be a man today. Eight 25-minute episodes were to be distributed on the internet. In 2021, Baldoni released a book under the same premise. He began a podcast series under the same name with co-hosts Liz Plank and Jamey Heath. A children's version of the book Boys Will Be Human was released in October 2022. Plank left the podcast in 2024 after The New York Times reported allegations that Baldoni sexually harassed Blake Lively. Plank wrote in a statement, "I will continue to support everyone who calls out injustice and holds the people standing in their way accountable". Wayfarer Studios Baldoni co-founded a production company called Wayfarer Entertainment, named for a phrase used by the founder of the Baháʼí faith, that produces television, films, and digital content. In 2019, Wayfarer sold a majority stake in the company to investment fund 4S Bay Partners, setting up a $25 million content fund, and was renamed Wayfarer Studios in 2020. The studio's most successful project to date is the 2024 romance drama It Ends with Us, that Baldoni directs and stars in. The film has grossed $391 million at the box office. The studio partnered with the nonprofit No More to provide resources and information related to domestic abuse and violence such as that shown in the film. In 2014, Baldoni through Wayfarer Studios' philanthropic branch, Wayfarer Foundation started the annual Skid Row Carnival of Love in downtown Los Angeles. The event served between 4 and 5 thousand homeless individuals living around Skid Row providing career services such as "housing services, domestic violence services, dental and medical exams, an eye clinic, haircuts, and massages" and other festivities such as face-painting, live concerts, and children's activities. The Foundation was shuttered in May 2025. == Personal life ==

After almost two years of dating, Baldoni married Swedish actress Emily Foxler, now known as Emily Baldoni. He proposed to her in a 27-minute video which he released on his production company's YouTube channel where it went viral. He described it as "his first movie". The couple married in July 2013 in Corona, California. Together they have a daughter and a son. Baldoni is a member of the Baháʼí Faith and has stated that for him it is a "daily source of inner happiness". He has stated that he has Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He has previously written and spoken about his struggles with Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Baldoni is on the Board of Ambassadors of the Tahirih Justice Center, a nonprofit advocating for women, girls, and all immigrant survivors of gender-based violence. == Filmography ==

Film Television ==Bibliography==