Justin Baldoni

Some Lesser Known Facts About Justin Baldoni

• Justin Baldoni belongs to a Catholic-Jewish lineage as his mother was Jewish and was of Ashkenazi Jewish descent whereas, his father Sam was from an Italian Catholic background.

• Primarily, he was raised practising the ‘Baháʼí Faith’ which is an Iran and middle-east developed monotheistic religion. He was made to practice it during his childhood as both his parents had converted to it before he was born.

• Justin’s father Sam was raised Irish Catholic and Justin’s mother Sharon was Ashkenazi Jewish which resulted in making Justin Baldoni a certified halachic Jew.

• Talking about his Catholic and his Jewish heritage, Justin Baldoni was quoted saying in an interview that
  

  We celebrated Chanukkah and Christmas as an ode to our grandparents. It was a wonderful thing to grow up in an interfaith family.”

• When he was in seventh grade, Justin’s father fed homeless people on the occasion of Christmas which made a lasting impression on him and since then, his passion for social welfare grew.

• When he was in middle school, Justin did his first place. When he was in high school, he started making music videos.

• Justin Baldoni was always interested in acting and he used to play soccer and ran track when he was in high school.

• He always wanted to become a professional sportsman but when he was in the senior year of his high school, he tore his hamstring which made him quit the field of sports.

• Despite having a hamstring injury, Justin Baldoni was still given the chance to run for the Long Beach State track team out of high school but he was not able to recover from his hamstring injury in time.

• When he was 23 years old, he started celebrating his birthday by serving food to those in need in Los Angeles, California.

• Soon after his high school studies, he received a partial athletic scholarship and attended college at California State University, Long Beach but he later dropped out.

• Soon after, Justin moved to Los Angeles. While moving into a new apartment building, Justin Baldoni met a manager who advised him to pursue a career in acting.

• In 2005, Justin Baldoni was cast in the South African/American made-for-TV thriller film titled ‘Spring Break Shark Attack’ in which he played the character of J.T.

  

• He was a radio disc jockey at a local top-40 radio station during his initial days.

  

• In 2008, he was cast in the American teen sitcom titled ‘The Suite Life of Zack & Cody’ in which he played the character of Ben and the series was telecast on Disney Channel.

  

• In 2009, Justin was cast in the American horror/thriller film titled ‘After Dusk They Come’ which was also named as ‘The Forgotten Ones’ and ‘The Tribe.’ He played the character of Peter.

  

• In 2010, Justin and Emily Baldoni started dating each other and in 2013, Justin proposed to her in a 27-minute video which he released on his production company’s YouTube channel where it went viral. He proposed to Emily in Blu Jam Cafe in Los Angeles where they went on their first date.

• In 2013, Justin Baldoni co-founded a production company called Wayfarer Entertainment which produced television, films, and digital content. Later, Wayfarer sold a majority stake in the company and was renamed as Wayfarer Studios in 2020.

• In 2014, Justin Baldoni was cast in the American romantic comedy-drama and satirical telenovela titled ‘Jane the Virgin’ which was a loose adaptation of the Venezuelan telenovela ‘Juana la virgen.’ He played the character of Rafael Solano and the series was telecast on The CW.

  

• In the same year, Justin Baldoni through Wayfarer Studios’s philanthropic branch named ‘Wayfarer Foundation’ started the annual Skid Row Carnival of Love in downtown Los Angeles.

• In the Skid Row Carnival of Love, he was able to serve between 4 and 5000 homeless individuals living around the Skid Row area in Los Angeles along with providing career services such as housing services, domestic violence services, dental and medical exams, and an eye clinic.

  

• In 2017, Justin Baldonu started a talk show titled ‘Man Enough’ through his media company Wayfarer Entertainment. He started the podcast series with co-hosts Liz Plank and Jamey Heath.

• In 2018, he was cast in the American crime drama film titled ‘Con Man’ which was based on the real-life story of the former American businessman Barry Minkow.

  

• In 2019, Justin Baldoni produced and directed the American romantic drama film titled ‘Five Feet Apart’ which was based on the life of the American screenwriter and author Mikki Daughtry and her experience of suffering from cystic fibrosis.

• In 2021, Justin Baldoni wrote a book titled ‘Man Enough: Undefining My Masculinity.’

  

• In 2022, Justin Baldoni published his second book titled ‘Boys Will Be Human: A Get-Real Gut-Check Guide to Becoming the Strongest, Kindest, Bravest Person You Can Be.’

  

• In 2024, Justin announced during a press conference that he was diagnosed with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He had also previously written and spoken about his struggles with Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Talking about his BDD condition, he was quoted saying that
  

  No matter what I do, I never feel like I’m strong enough, or muscular enough or big enough, and that comes down to being the super skinny kid that was picked on and bullied.”

• In 2024, during a press conference, Justin admitted that he faced sexual trauma in a relationship when he was studying at California State University, Long Beach. Sharing the same, he was quoted saying in an interview that
  

  I 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. I was hoping to save myself for marriage. Acknowledging that a woman could take advantage of me became too much to hold for many, many years.”

• After doing a bunch of films, Justin Baldoni started learning acoustic guitar and also expressed his interest in taking singing lessons.

• Justin Baldoni being a member of the Baháʼí Faith considers it as his “daily source of inner happiness.”

• In 2024, he was cast in the American romantic drama film titled ‘It Ends with Us’ which was also directed by him. The film was based on the 2016 novel by Colleen Hoover.

  

• In the same year, the talent agency WME dropped Baldoni as a client due to sexual harassment allegations made against him by the American actress Blake Lively.

• In 2024, Justin was to receive the ‘Voices of Solidarity Award’ but it was then revoked due to the sexual harassment allegations made against him.

• Justin’s co-host Liz Plank from their podcast ‘Man Enough’ resigned from their podcast due to the sexual harassment allegations made against him.

• As of 2025, Justin Baldoni is on the Board of Ambassadors of ‘Tahirih Justice Center’ which is a national charitable non-governmental organization that aims to protect immigrant women and girls fleeing gender-based violence and persecution.

• Justin Baldoni has been cast in many American films and some of them include ‘Alpha Males Experiment’ (2009), ‘Royal Reunion’ (2011), ‘Not Today’ (2013), ‘The Proposal’ (2014), and ‘A Fine Step’ (2014).

• Justin has directed and produced many American films and some of them are ‘Clouds’ (2020), ‘The Senior’ (2023), ‘The Garfield Movie’ (2024), ‘Ezra’ (2024), ‘Will & Harper’ (2024).

  

• Justin Baldoni has been part of many TV series and some of them are ‘CSI: Miami’ (2007), ‘Shadow of Fear’ (2012), ‘Undercover Bridesmaid’ (2012), ‘Happy Endings’ (2013), and ‘Madam Secretary’ (2017).

  

• Justin Baldoni loves to spend time with animals and often shares photos and videos with his pet dog on social media.