Biography and photo from deltorofilms.com

theOscarSite Bio: Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, México. Raised by his Catholic grandmother, del Toro developed an interest in filmmaking in his early teens. Later, he learned about makeup and effects from Dick Smith (THE EXORCIST) and worked on making his own short films. At the age of 21, del Toro executive produced his first feature, DOÑA HERLINDA Y SU HIJO / DONA HERLINDA AND HER SON (1986).

Del Toro spent almost 10 years as a makeup supervisor, and formed his own company, Necropia in the early 1980's. He also produced and directed Mexican television programs at this time, and taught film. He got his first big break when CRONOS (1992) won nine academy awards in Mexico, then went on to win the International Critics Week prize at Cannes. Following this success, del Toro made his first Hollywood film, MIMIC (1997), starring Mira Sorvino.

Del Toro had some unfortunate experiences working with a demanding Hollywood studio on MIMIC, and returned to Mexico to form his own production company, The Tequila Gang. Next was EL ESPINAZO DEL DIABLO / THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE (2001), a Spanish Civil War ghost story. The film was hailed by critics and audiences alike, and del Toro decided to give Hollywood another try. In 2002, he directed the Wesley Snipes vampire sequel, BLADE II. On a roll, del Toro followed that up with another successful comic-book inspired film, HELLBOY, starring one of his favorite actors, Ron Perlman.

Del Toro achieved international success with his 2006 film EL LABERINTO DEL FAUNO / PAN'S LABYRINTH. More recent projects include HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY (2008), 3993 (announced for 2009), THE HOBBIT and AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS (both announced for 2010), and THE HOBBIT 2 (announced for release in 2011).

Married with children, Guillermo del Toro currently lives in Los Angeles.

· Achievement in Writing (Original Screenplay) 2006: EL LABERINTO DEL FAUNO (PAN'S LABYRINTH)