Luis Alves, born to Cape Verdean parents on the island Santiago, a volcanic island in the central Atlantic Ocean of the coast of Africa; once a Portuguese colony, it now stands independently as Cape Verde. His parents, Joana Alves who works as a nurse, and Luis Paiva who works in car-sales, grew up on the Island Santiago and Fogo. Luis is a classically trained actor who received his training in the Rotterdam, Netherlands and Los Angeles, California.