{{Infobox person | name = Ligiah Villalobos | image = Ligiah Villalobos (39788402940).jpg | image_size = | caption = | birth_date = | birth_place = Chihuahua, Mexico | occupation = {{flatlist| * Writer * Producer}} }} '''Ligiah Villalobos''' is a Mexican-American television writer and producer. She is best known for her work as head writer for the Nick Jr. show ''Go, Diego, Go''<ref name=":3" /> as well as producing and writing the Sundance film ''Under the Same Moon''.<ref name=":0" />
== Early life and education == Ligiah Villalobos was born to Efrain Villalobos and Olivia Rojas, in Chihuahua, Mexico, and raised in Mexico City. She moved to the United States at the age of eleven.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.efilmcritic.com/feature.php?feature=2513 |title=Blessings of the New Moon: Interview with Under the Same Moon Screenwriter Ligiah Villalobos |last=Lybarger |first=Dan |date=2008-07-03 |website=EFilmCritic |access-date=11 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Chávez |first=Sandy |date=2019-03-15 |title=The heartbreak of being left three times fuels this filmmaker’s career |url=https://usc2019.nextgenradio.org/the-heartbreak-of-being-left-three-times-fuels-this-filmmakers-career/ |access-date=2026-04-27 |website=Next Generation Radio @ USC - March 2019 |language=en-US}}</ref>
She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in creative writing from Antioch University in September 2013 and also received a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the same institution in May 2016. Ligiah also studied at Brigham Young University for four years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Improv Comedy Clubs |url=http://improv.com/comedian.cfm?id=6551 |access-date=2016-12-21 |website=improv.com}}</ref>
== Career == Villalobos has produced many films and TV shows. Her most notable works include ''Under the Same Moon'', ''Go, Diego, Go!'', and ''Ed''.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0897788/|title=Ligiah Villalobos|website=IMDb|access-date=2016-12-01}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2025}}
She has developed projects for multiple studios and networks, including NBC, the ABC Family Channel, FX, Showtime, BET, and HBO. Villalobos consulted on the films ''Planes'' and ''Coco'', as well as the television series ''Nina's World''. She was a studio executive at The Walt Disney Company, where she oversaw all television production in Latin America for five years. Here, she launched eight children's shows and oversaw the Writing Fellowship Program and the Director's Training Program for a year. At The Warner Bros. TV Network, Villalobos served as a Current Programming Executive, where she oversaw six prime-time shows.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/ligiah-villalobos|title=Ligiah Villalobos {{!}} The Huffington Post|website=www.huffingtonpost.com|access-date=2016-12-01}}</ref>
She also wrote the pilot for the NBC television series ''Loteria'',<ref name=":5">{{Cite news|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/electus-sells-telenovela-loteria-nbc-667171|title=Electus Sells Telenovela 'Loteria' to NBC (Exclusive)|newspaper=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=2016-12-21}}</ref> a pilot for Starz based on the book ''The Dirty Girls Social Club'',<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|url=http://shadowandact.com/2016/08/01/a-tv-series-based-on-the-bestselling-dirty-girls-social-club-is-in-development/|title=A TV Series Based on the Bestselling 'Dirty Girls Social Club' Is in Development|date=2016-08-01|website=Shadow and Act|access-date=2016-12-21}}</ref> and an animated feature film called ''Chito and the Land of Xo''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nhmc.org/2016-july-newsletter/|title=2016 July Newsletter - National Hispanic Media Coalition|newspaper=National Hispanic Media Coalition|language=en-US|access-date=2016-12-21}}</ref>
In 2012, Villalobos wrote the film ''Firelight.''<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=NHMC MediaCon Speakers |title=NHMC MediaCon Speakers - National Hispanic Media Coalition |url=http://www.nhmc.org/mediacon/speakers |access-date=2016-11-11}}</ref> She also co-wrote the Lifetime TV film ''The Real MVP'' (2016), which was produced by Queen Latifah and Shelby Stone.<ref name=":3" />
Ligiah has been on the board of the Writers Guild Foundation and the National Hispanic Media Coalition.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}
=== Under the Same Moon === As its Writer and Executive Producer, ''Under the Same Moon'' is regarded as Villalobos's best-known work. This film was an "Official Selection at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and became the highest-selling Spanish-language film in the history of Sundance".<ref name=":0" /> She originally wrote the film 7 years prior to its production because she wanted to make the career transition from producer to writer. As a child immigrant from Mexico herself, Ligiah did not want to create another "crossing the border story" but one "about the displacement of children as a result of parents coming to live in this country". She wanted to focus on the abandonment of children, a theme that resonated in her own childhood due to the divorce of her parents.<ref name=":1" />
Before the film went into production, Villalobos had to repurchase the rights to it from the original producers, since her script had been with them for five years. After struggling with two production companies, the team for this movie decided to make it an independent film and raised the necessary funds within a month. After getting into Sundance, the film sold for five million dollars.<ref name=":1" />
== Awards == She won a Humanitas Prize in 2013.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |title=Writer, Producer |newspaper=NALIP Media Summit |url=http://www.nalipmediasummit.com/ligiah_villalobos |access-date=2016-12-01}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Villalobos, Ligiah}} Category:American writers of Mexican descent Category:Mexican film producers Category:Film producers from Utah Category:Writers from Chihuahua Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:American television writers Category:Mexican television writers Category:American women film producers Category:Mexican women film producers