Willy Monfret
- Actor
Willy Monfret is an international model, DJ, producer and actor, born and raised in Paris. He studied at the famous French business school Léonard de Vinci and got his Master Degree in Management. Willy started modeling for Karin Models in Paris and shooting for international brands, such as Ralph Lauren, Vogue, Benetton, Revlon, Carrera & L'Oreal. Prior to his modeling career he was an athlete, running for the French National Team. It was however the interesting combination of his unique appearance and his talent as a DJ that made him rise to the international multi-talented icon that he is today.
As a model with a very promising career, Willy has worked for various prestigious brands and even landed on the cover of international magazines, such as GQ and Men's Health. Due to his rising modeling career, he has traveled through Australia, Hong Kong and South Africa, doing campaigns for brands such as Giordano, Woolworths and LG. During this experience, he discovered his newfound passion for DJing, which led to his first residency at 'Club Volar' in Hong Kong. Some say that he just has that "Je ne sais quoi", an unprecedented talent for modeling, DJ-ing.
After moving to New York and signing with Major Models, his interesting look was immediately noticed by world-famous rapper and pop-star Nicki Minaj. He had the lead role in her 'Right Thru Me' music video & recently in her short movie 'The Pinkprint Movie. He also modeled for P. Diddy's brand 'Sean John'.
Willy released his first track 'Fux', featuring GLOWINTHEDARK, which was received very well and got support from world famous DJ and creator of the internationally known Dirty Dutch sound, Chuckie. His second track, 'Rise of Machines', also received a lot of support from DJs like EDX.
In a very short time frame, he started his rise to international stardom and he also became ambassador for his Father's home country Guadeloupe Islands. In the summer of 2013 and 2014, they released the "Let Me Show You My Islands" series in which he gives an insider's look at his beloved Guadeloupe Islands.
In January 2014 the short film "Love Bug" where he played the main character, premiered at the Tribeca Screening Room. In this romantic comedy, directed by award winning Ramazan Nanayev, Willy Monfret plays the lead role of a guy who is bitten by the love bug. 'Love Bug' was selected to screen at the 11th annual Big Apple Film Festival, The Southampton International Film Festival and was nominated for an award.
As a DJ, Willy has an international touring schedule performing every year in Asia, Africa, North America and visiting a different EU city almost every week. Furthermore, Willy was one of the main artists at the hot spot Cavalli in Ibiza in 2014 where he headlined a model-fueled R&B and hip-hop party hosted by Dutch DJs GLOWINTHEDARK. He's also a well known face at Fashion Week in Milan, Mozambique and Montreal, at the F1 Grand Prix, Film Festivals and he played at the Miami Music Week.
During his tour and in between the shootings, Willy also finds the time to spend some hours in the studio. His latest EP 'Encore' was released on GLOWINTHEDARK's label LightState Music and it was supported by Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, Chuckie, Thomas Gold, David Guetta and many more.
Another of his headlines in 2015 was doubtless his signing with Universal Music and U!Think, where important figures such as Mike Tyson, Pelé, Neymar Jr and artists in the likes of Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Taylor Swift and more, are signed. Aside from this, Willy ended up the year as the main face of German brand Kurt Geiger both for his Summer and Fall/Winter campaign.
As a model with a very promising career, Willy has worked for various prestigious brands and even landed on the cover of international magazines, such as GQ and Men's Health. Due to his rising modeling career, he has traveled through Australia, Hong Kong and South Africa, doing campaigns for brands such as Giordano, Woolworths and LG. During this experience, he discovered his newfound passion for DJing, which led to his first residency at 'Club Volar' in Hong Kong. Some say that he just has that "Je ne sais quoi", an unprecedented talent for modeling, DJ-ing.
After moving to New York and signing with Major Models, his interesting look was immediately noticed by world-famous rapper and pop-star Nicki Minaj. He had the lead role in her 'Right Thru Me' music video & recently in her short movie 'The Pinkprint Movie. He also modeled for P. Diddy's brand 'Sean John'.
Willy released his first track 'Fux', featuring GLOWINTHEDARK, which was received very well and got support from world famous DJ and creator of the internationally known Dirty Dutch sound, Chuckie. His second track, 'Rise of Machines', also received a lot of support from DJs like EDX.
In a very short time frame, he started his rise to international stardom and he also became ambassador for his Father's home country Guadeloupe Islands. In the summer of 2013 and 2014, they released the "Let Me Show You My Islands" series in which he gives an insider's look at his beloved Guadeloupe Islands.
In January 2014 the short film "Love Bug" where he played the main character, premiered at the Tribeca Screening Room. In this romantic comedy, directed by award winning Ramazan Nanayev, Willy Monfret plays the lead role of a guy who is bitten by the love bug. 'Love Bug' was selected to screen at the 11th annual Big Apple Film Festival, The Southampton International Film Festival and was nominated for an award.
As a DJ, Willy has an international touring schedule performing every year in Asia, Africa, North America and visiting a different EU city almost every week. Furthermore, Willy was one of the main artists at the hot spot Cavalli in Ibiza in 2014 where he headlined a model-fueled R&B and hip-hop party hosted by Dutch DJs GLOWINTHEDARK. He's also a well known face at Fashion Week in Milan, Mozambique and Montreal, at the F1 Grand Prix, Film Festivals and he played at the Miami Music Week.
During his tour and in between the shootings, Willy also finds the time to spend some hours in the studio. His latest EP 'Encore' was released on GLOWINTHEDARK's label LightState Music and it was supported by Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, Chuckie, Thomas Gold, David Guetta and many more.
Another of his headlines in 2015 was doubtless his signing with Universal Music and U!Think, where important figures such as Mike Tyson, Pelé, Neymar Jr and artists in the likes of Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Taylor Swift and more, are signed. Aside from this, Willy ended up the year as the main face of German brand Kurt Geiger both for his Summer and Fall/Winter campaign.
