Guillermo del Toro

Guillermo del Toro began dating Lorenza Newton, cousin of Mexican singer Guadalupe Pineda, while both of them were studying at the Instituto de Ciencias in Guadalajara. The two later got married and had two children, but their divorce was finalized in September 2017.

His father was kidnapped in Guadalajara in 1997, following which he paid the ransom with financial help from his good friend filmmaker James Cameron. While his father was released 72 days after being kidnapped, the culprits were never apprehended, and the family eventually moved abroad in "involuntary exile".

Guillermo del Toro Gómez was born on October 9, 1964 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, to automotive entrepreneur Federico del Toro Torres and Guadalupe Gómez. He was raised in a Catholic household and described his upbringing as "morbid", stating that it made him intolerant of authoritarianism.

He developed an interest in making short dark fantasy films with 'Planet of the Apes' toys and his father's Super 8 camera since he was only eight. He created about 10 short films till high school. He later attended the film school, Centro de Investigación y Estudios Cinematográficos, in Guadalajara, from where he graduated in 1983.

Guillermo del Toro began his filmmaking career in 1993 with the Spanish-language Mexican horror drama film 'Cronos', starring Federico Luppi and Ron Perlman, which depicted the story of an antiques shopkeeper who undergoes vampiric transformation. His first feature film, it was selected as the Mexican entry for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' at the 66th Academy Awards, even though it failed to earn nomination.

In 1997, he received $30 million budget from Miramax Films for his next directorial venture, 'Mimic', an American science fiction horror film in which New York City is infested by gargantuan insects. While his relation with Miramax soured during the production of the film, and he did not succeed in obtaining a final cut, he later released a director's cut version in 2011.

Following his Hollywood disappointment, he went back to direct the Spanish-language gothic horror film, 'The Devil's Backbone' (2001), set in Spain during the final year of the Spanish Civil War. The film, for which he again collaborated with Federico Luppi, was received favorably by critics and audiences upon its release.

For his next project, 'Blade II' (2002), he kept the horror and supernatural themes, but wrapped it around the eponymous human-vampire hybrid comic-book superhero. Wesley Snipes reprised his role from the 1998 film 'Blade' for the sequel, which was a box office success and received mixed to positive reviews from critics.

In 2004, he teamed up with Ron Perlman for another supernatural comic-book adaptation – this time about the demon-turned-superhero Hellboy, loosely based on a Dark Horse Comics graphic novel. The eponymous film earned critical acclaim and also succeeded at the box office, prompting him to write and direct the 2008 sequel 'Hellboy II: The Golden Army'.

Guillermo del Toro's two films 'The Devil's Backbone' and 'Pan's Labyrinth' set in the backdrop authoritarian leader Francisco Franco's Spain, are among his most critically acclaimed works. 'Pan's Labyrinth' gave him international recognition, earning $80 million worldwide, and became one of the top-grossing foreign releases in the United States.

'The Shape of Water' is his most celebrated work which earned nearly $195 million worldwide against a budget of $19.5 million. It was nominated for 13 Oscars and won four, apart from numerous other accolades including two Golden Globe awards and three BAFTA awards