Lou Diamond Phillips's Real Name: Lou Diamond Upchurch

Quick answer: The actor is known professionally as Lou Diamond Phillips. Encyclopedia.com gives the original name Lou Diamond Upchurch. Biography.com independently says he was the son of Gerald Upchurch and later took the surname of his stepfather, Phillips. Encyclopedia.com and Biography.com independently date his birth to February 17, 1962, at Subic Bay Naval Station in the Philippines.

Real name and early life

Independent publishers support the documented original surname Upchurch and the later professional name Lou Diamond Phillips. Encyclopedia.com, in a Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television entry, lists the original name Lou Diamond Upchurch, dates the birth to February 17, 1962, at Subic Bay U.S. Naval Station, in the Philippines, and identifies his parents as Gerald, a naval officer, and Lucy Upchurch, and his stepfather as George Phillips, also a naval officer. Biography.com independently dates the birth to February 17, 1962, on the Subic Bay Naval Station in the Philippines, names Lucita Aranas and American naval officer Gerald Upchurch as his parents, and says he was later adopted by his mother's second husband and took the surname Phillips. The same Biography.com account says he was raised in Texas and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drama at the University of Texas at Arlington. Encyclopedia.com independently lists a B.F.A. from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1984.

Career highlights

Biography.com says his major film break came in 1987, when he played Ritchie Valens in La Bamba, and that he had already finished Stand and Deliver (1988), playing Angel Guzman opposite Edward James Olmos, a performance that brought a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actor, and also appeared that year in Young Guns. Encyclopedia.com independently lists Ritchie Valens in La Bamba, Angel Guzman in Stand and Deliver, and Jose Chavez y Chavez in Young Guns, and records an Independent Spirit Award and a Golden Globe nomination, both in 1989, for Stand and Deliver. Biography.com later notes a Tony Award nomination for The King and I on Broadway and earlier work at Stage West Theatre in Fort Worth. Encyclopedia.com independently records a 1996 Tony nomination, a Theatre World Award, and an Outer Critics Circle Award for The King and I, and later film work in Courage Under Fire (cited there among 1997 honors).

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Lou Diamond Phillips or Lou Diamond Upchurch are looking for the same actor. Encyclopedia.com supports the original name used in the title, and Biography.com independently supports the Upchurch birth surname and the later Phillips name.