Alfonso Cuaron has certainly made his mark in the movie and entertainment industry. He stands up there with the likes of , Martin Scorsese, and among others. Starting in 1983, the Latino director has been involved in a lot of projects for Hollywood and his native land of Mexico.
Alfonso’s works have included films like Y Tu Mamá También(2001), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), and Children of Men (2006). More recently, he has been part of the making of Gravity (2013), and Roma (2018), receiving a plethora of awards and nominations for his efforts.
Cuaron who is a producer, director, screenwriter, editor, and cinematographer, made history in 2013. He became the first director of Latin American origin to clinch an Academy Award for Best Director.
His Bio
The accomplished director cum producer was born in New Mexico, Mexico, on November 28, 1961. Growing up, Alfonso had only two dreams: to be a filmmaker or an astronaut. With his space dream requiring military service, he settled for the film industry. Cuaron was given his first camera when he was 12 years old. This only helped to heighten his obsession with filmmaking.
He studied philosophy at the UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico), while also taking film classes at CUEC (Centro Universitario de Estudios Cinematográficos). There, he collaborated with some director friends from school to make Who’s He Anyway (1983), and Vengeance is Mine (1983). He was eventually expelled for making his movies using the English language.
Alfonso subsequently took up a job as a technician and then as a director in Mexico, where he worked on many local productions.
In 1991, Alfonso Cuaron directed his first big project, a sex comedy, Sólo con Tu Pareja. His first taste of the international limelight came when he signed a contract with Warner Brothers in 1995 to direct A Little Princess. This led to other directional successes like Great Expectations (1998), and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). The latter was better received than the two preceding instalments of the series. His next Hollywood job Children of Men (2006) saw him nominated for three Academy Awards and three BAFTA Awards, winning in two categories of the latter. After creating the short-lived NMC fantasy drama Believe (2013), Alfonso Cuaron earned himself a spot on TIME’s 2014 list of 100 Most Influential People in the World.
As if to channel his childhood dream for wanting to be an astronaut, Alfonso next worked on the sci-fi thriller Gravity (2013). On this project, he was the producer, director, writer, and editor. The movie received 25 nominations and won 14 of them (7 Academy, 6 BAFTA, and 1 Golden Globe).
In 2018, he reprised all these responsibilities on his hit drama, Roma. For this effort, he received 20 nominations.
So far, for his movies and personal efforts, Alfonso Cuaron has won over 30 awards. He has also got to work with movie greats like , Jonathan Kaplan, , and .
Alfonso Cuaron’s Parents, Siblings
The star director was born to his mother, Cristina Orozco, and his father, Alfredo Cuaron. During his active days, Alfredo worked with the United Nations’ IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency). Through his parents, Alfonso has two brothers, Alfredo, named after his father, and Carlos.
While Alfredo towed the path of science like his father, working as a conservation biologist, Carlos went in the same direction with Alfonso. Carlos is a director and screenwriter and has worked with Alfonso on a number of projects. These include writing the screenplay for Sólo con tu Pareja (1991), which was directed by Alfonso. Carlos and Alfonso also co-wrote Y tu mamá también (2001).
Wife, Children
Cuaron has been around the matrimonial block a few times. His first marriage was to Mariana Elizondo. He met Mariana while they were both studying at Centro Universitario de Estudios Cinematográficos (CUEC). They married in 1980 and have one child together, Juan Cuaron, born 1981. The marriage lasted for thirteen years, and they divorced in 1993.
In 2001, he tied the knot with Italian journalist and actress, Annalisa Bugliani. They had their first child, Tess Bu Cuarón in 2002, and their second, Olmo Teodoro Cuarón in 2005, before divorcing in 2008.
Since 2011, Alfonso Cuaron has been in a relationship with Sheherazade Goldsmith, an author, and entrepreneur. Sheherazade, like Alfonso, is a divorcee. She has three children with her ex-husband and British Member of Parliament, Zac Goldsmith. As of 2019, Alfonso and Sheherazade are not married and have no children together.
Net Worth
Alfonso Cuaron can earn more from a single movie than his contemporaries. This is because on several projects, he wears more than one hat, as a producer, director, writer, and editor. As a result, he can earn for up to four responsibilities.
In terms of movie budgets, the multi-responsible director hasn’t really done a lot of movies with big budgets. At least not on the same vein as the industry’s top men. However, with the making of Gravity and then Roma, things can definitely only get better.
Owing to his personal success as a filmmaker and the plethora of nominations and awards that have come in for his movies, Celebrity Net Worth estimates his net worth at $40 million circa 2018.
Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.
