Born to actor parents, Olympic gymnast Levi Jung-Ruivivar enters showbiz

September 4, 2024 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Filipina-American Olympic gymnast Levi Jung-Ruivivar is thrilled to explore acting, modeling and endorsement opportunities after inking a deal with Viva Artists Agency.

Levi always had a passion for the entertainment industry since both of her parents are actors, Anthony Ruivivar (“Third Watch,” “Banshee,” “Criminal Minds,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”) and Yvonne Jung (“Third Watch,” “ER”).

“I don’t know if that’s just the way I was born or it had to do with my parents being actors. But I was actually really pushing both my parents to be able to get more involved in the entertainment industry,” she told the press during a contract signing at Viva’s office.

Now that she’s part of Viva, she’s keen on projects related to acting, modeling, brand deals and social media content. “Since I was like a younger gymnast, I really made it (a point) to be able to post more consistently and kind of like put myself out there. And I felt that starting with Viva was gonna help me more in that field. And that I would be able to achieve more of my higher goals by working with Viva,” she maintained.

“’Cause there’s always so much that you can do on your own through things like social media. So I was really hoping that by signing with Viva I will be able to reach a larger audience and the audience, specifically in the Philippines as well.”

Right after the presscon, the 18-year-old, L.A.-born athlete left to catch her flight to the United States where she will pursue her college education at Stanford University. She will also be busy training for the 2028 Los Angeles (L.A.) Olympics. The youngest Filipina athlete of the Philippine Centennial Team represented the Philippines at the 2024 Paris Olympics and is looking forward to doing it again in the 2028 Olympics.

On how she will balance her school, Olympic preparations and Viva projects, she said, “If there are little projects that come up here and there, and then that work in my schedule that would be something that I will discuss with Viva and try to kind of figure out how that would be possible.”

“But bigger projects would have to be after L.A. because I do train almost 34 hours a week sometimes. But now that I’m going to college, I will have a little bit more time because the training hours are a little bit less,” she added.

The actors she looked up to in the industry are her parents and comedian Jack Black. But she would love to collaborate with Julia Barretto, given the chance.

“In terms of filming, movies and stuff like that, I would have to do more research. But a lot of people say that I look like Julia Barretto, which is, I guess, my ‘long-lost sister.’ So it would be incredible to really work with her actually.”

Does she also have plans of venturing into music since her grandfather, Tony Ruivivar, was a founding member of the musical group Society of Seven?

“I wish I could say yes but unfortunately, my voice is not the best. It’s not very good at all,” she told The STAR. “So I’m gonna say no to that. Well, I scream in karaoke though. Even though it’s not the most beautiful thing to hear.”

Levi, nevertheless, is a fan of Billie Eilish and Martin Nievera. The latter is also good friends with her dad.

Meanwhile, she appreciated the apology issued by Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) president Cynthia Carrion to her, along with other Filipino gymnasts, for missing the Aug. 14 homecoming parade for Filipino athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Levi’s dad explained that the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), and GAP have been “incredibly supportive and helpful” to his daughter.

“Levi wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them. So don’t get this wrong,” he stated.

“I think she’s specifically talking about a very specific thing. But the POC, the PSC, the President’s office, GAP all in different ways have been incredibly supportive. Again, she wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them. So just to clarify, it’s not that in general. It’s not across the board. I think she was asking that question (about) something very specific that happened.”

Levi, meanwhile, didn’t comment on the issue surrounding Filipino gymnast and Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo and his mother, but she went on to praise her fellow athlete.

“I don’t know exactly what is going on with that issue. But I do know that Caloy is an incredible gymnast and worked really, really hard to get where he was and he had an incredible performance at the competition,” she said.

“I think everyone in the Philippines is celebrating his success and is very supportive of him — what he was able to do or he was able to bring to the Philippines. So, I think… I mean, everyone should be celebrating his success and his ability to compete with such high-level pressure and then win two gold medals at the Olympics. That’s just amazing!”