De Villa was born Gines Francisco Soriano on July 6, 1928, in then municipality of
Cabanatuan in the province of
Nueva Ecija. He was a pre-medical student when he was signed by
LVN Pictures. His father was disappointed by his decision to become an actor, and the two became estranged. However, they were reconciled by LVN President
Doña Sisang de Leon, who arranged to have de Villa's father secretly attend one of his movie premieres. He made his first film with LVN,
Amor-Mio (
My Love), in 1951. The following year, he teamed up with another LVN contract star, Nida Blanca, for
Romansa sa Nayon. The film's success popularized the Nestor-Nida "love team", though in real-life, de Villa would marry Marilu Cacho Soriano from the wealthy and socially prominent Cacho family. He remained at LVN until
1961, when the studio discontinued making films. He then transferred to
Sampaguita Pictures where in
1962 he made his Sampaguita debut in
Tugtuging Bukid (
Farm Music), together with
Gloria Romero. In the 1960s, he was nominated three times for the
FAMAS Best Actor award—for
Mga Yapak ng Walang Bakas (1962);
Naku Yabang (1964); and
Siete Dolores (1968). De Villa and Blanca also appeared together on an
ABS-CBN television show,
The Nida-Nestor Show. In the 1980s, de Villa made his screen comeback when he was again paired with Blanca in two films for
Viva Films:
Forgive and Forget, which also starred
Sharon Cuneta and
William Martinez and
Saan Darating ang Umaga? (
Where Will the Morning Come?), a family drama co-starring
Maricel Soriano,
Nida Blanca and
Jaypee de Guzman. He was posthumously inducted to the Philippines Eastwood City Walk of Fame in December 2005. ==Personal life==