It is widely believed that children will always follow in their parent’s footsteps, little wonder Gael Garcia Bernal, born to a mother who is an actress and a father who is an actor will naturally join the entertainment industry as an actor in his own right. Even his stepfather whom his mother got married to when he was very young is a known photographer and consequently, Gael has grown to become one of the acclaimed actors and movie directors in Mexico.

Gael Garcia Bernal Bio

Gael was born in the city of Guadalajara, Mexico on November 30, 1978, to their father José Angel García, who is an actor and a director and his mother Patricia Bernal who was formerly a model but is presently in the acting profession as well. His mother married his stepfather Sergio Yazbek when Gael was very young. Together, his mother Patricia and his stepfather Sergio who is a photographer raised Gael in Mexico. He enrolled at the Edron Academy in Mexico City as a young chap. Gael was inspired to join the entertainment world when his parents participated in an annual clown competition

The renowned actor is a customary Catholic, but he does not really believe in the existence of God because he is described as an agnostic. Gael is multilingual, he is fluent in four languages which include Spanish English, Portuguese and French. He is also known to speak Italian to some degree.

Gael Garcia Bernal began acting at the tender age of one and his teenage years were spent, starring in Telenovelas. He studied at the International Baccalaureate and his best subject was chemistry. Gael taught indigenous people in Mexico how to read, he achieved this at the age of 14. His focus was always on the Huichol people. When he turned 15, the Chiapas uprising of 1994 occurred and he was actively involved in it.

Gael became the first Mexican to be accepted to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama. This was after he took a sabbatical to travel around the world when there was a prolonged student’s strike at UNAM, Mexico’s National University where he was studying Philosophy.

He was called to take the lead in some of Mexico’s most celebrated films when he returned to the country. Films which include Academy Award-nominated Amores Perros, 2000, Tu Mamá También 2001 and El Crimen del Padre Amaro 2002. He starred in The Motorcycle Diaries as Che Guevara. The movie was a celebrated adaptation of the Cuban revolutionary and it chronicled his early travels across South America. His first feature film which he directed was released in 2007 in Mexico.

Among his many endeavors, Gael is also a businessman, he co-owns Canana Films with Diego Luna. Canana Films recently joined forces with Golden Phoenix Productions to produce several television documentaries about the murder of more than 300 women in the border city of Ciudad Juarez which has remained unsolved.

The Ambulante Documentary Film Festival was founded by Gael. The body works to bring documentary films to places where they are hardly shown. He also helped to create the Amnesty International Short Documentary Series Los Invisibles. He was awarded the Washington Office on Latin America’s Human Rights Award in 2011 for his efforts.

Net Worth

His salaries from the roles he has taken up and proceeds from the films and series he has directed coupled with his co-ownership of Canana Films with Diego Luna have immensely contributed to his present net worth. Besides, The Ambulante Documentary Film Festival which he founded is also a great contributor to Gael’s net worth which is estimated at $12million presently.

Gael Garcia Bernal: Is He Married? Wife, Kids

Gael and his partner Dolores Fonzi who is also an actress met on the set of Vidas Privadas in 2001. Although they were together for a very long time, the couple never got married. They lived together for six years, from 2008 to 2014 which made some people believe that they were actually married.

The couple has two kids. Their son named Lázaro was born on the 8th of January 2009 in Madrid, Spain while Libertad, their daughter came on the 4th of April 2014 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Gael shuttles between Buenos Aires and Mexico City because of his commitments.

Girlfriend, Is He Gay?

When you have the good looks and resources to take care of a family but you refuse to get married even when you are chasing 40, the rumor mill will begin to buzz over your sexual orientation. As mentioned earlier, Gael Garcia Bernal had a girlfriend who he dated for more than five years without getting married to her and they even share a son. Thus, it’s no surprise that fans are suspecting he might be gay. Nevertheless, as far as we know, his sexual orientation is straight, he is not gay.