Villanueva is a Mexican-American who grew up in Calexico and attended Central Union High School in California's Imperial Valley.

[1][2] He had eleven siblings,[3] and his father, Primitivo, fought against Pancho Villa in 1916 and was granted immunity to enter the United States.

Villanueva played halfback and defensive back for coach Henry Russell Sanders's UCLA Bruins from 1952 to 1954 and was known as the "Calexico Kid".

"[5] He helped save UCLA's undefeated season with a pass deflection late in a 21–20 win over the Washington Huskies.

"[1] At the end of the 1954 season, Villanueva was selected to play in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama,[7] and was named a second-team College Football All-American by the United Press.

[13] As of 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that Villanueva was living in Surrey, British Columbia with his second wife, Phyllis.