Gael García Bernal - Biography

Who is Gael García Bernal?

Gael García Bernal is a Mexican actor who put the Mexican movies on the global map. With Oscar-nominated movie Amores Perros to Mozart in the Jungle to animated Coco, he has played it all. And here are the facts about him, you must know!

Gael García Bernal: Age, Mother, Father, Siblings

Gael García Bernal’s birth took place on 30 November 1978 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.  His mother is Patricia Bernal, an actress, and former model and his father is José Ángel García, an actor and director.

After his parents divorced, Gael García Bernal’s mother married Sergio Yazbek, a screenwriter. He has one half-brother, Dario Yazbek Bernal, and one half-sister, Tamara Yazbek.

Source: Remezcla (Gael García Bernal with half-brother Dario Yazbek Bernal)

Growing up, he was very much influenced by his parents’ profession, getting into acting at a very young age. Also, Bernal has volunteered as an activist from a young age. At the age of 14, he taught indigenous people in Mexico to read, focusing more on the Huichol people. In the year 1994, when he was just 15 years old, he took part in peaceful demonstrations during the Chiapas uprising.

Education, Ethnicity

After completing his school level, Bernal attended UNAM to study philosophy. But a prolonged student strike halted his education. During this time, he traveled to Europe. Soon, he moved to London, England and enrolled in Central School of Speech and Drama, making him the first Mexican to study there.

His ethnicity includes Latin, Hispanic, Italian, Portuguese.

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Gael García Bernal: Girlfriend, Wife, Children, Divorce

Bernal has dated several high profile celebrities- Cecilia Suárez and Natalie Portman. But these relationships did not evolve from affair to marriage.

Gael García Bernal met Dolores Fonzi, also an actress in 2001. They had met on the set of Vidas privadas. They first became friends and maintained such till 2008. The same year their relationship status was upgraded to girlfriend/ boyfriend.  

Many thought that Bernal and Fonzi were a married couple, but the couple never did. Their son Lázaro Bernal was born on 8 January 2009 in Madrid, Spain. The lovey-dovey couple’s second child, a healthy baby girl was born on 4 April 2011 in Buenos Aires, Argentina and named her Libertad García Fonzi.

Source: eylandt (Gael García Bernal and ex-girlfriend Dolores Fonzi)

Sadly, Bernal and his long-time girlfriend Fonzi separated in September 2014. As of now, he is believed to be single while co-parenting his two children.

Currently, he resides between Mexico City and Buenos Aires.

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Gael García Bernal: Career

Early Days

Bernal’s career started at a very young age- when he was just 1 year old. As he grew up into his teens, Gael García Bernal starred mostly in telenovelas. 

Now, let’s jump to his career in adult days. He found success in the soap operas. Eventually, Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu offered Gael García Bernal a role in the movie Amores Perros (2000). The movie was a massive success- earning nominations for an Oscar and Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Source: Transatlantyk Festival (Gael García Bernal in the movie Amores Perros)

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Films, Series

After this big breakthrough in his acting career, he went to star in movies/films such as Y tu mamá también (2001),  El crimen del Padre Amaro (2002), Fidel (2002), The Motorcycle Diaries (2004),  The Science of Sleep, The King etc.

Since 2008, he has worked in movies/shows including Blindness, Rudo y Cursi, Even the Rain (2010), Casa de Mi Padre, Ciudades Desiertas, Rosewater, Zorro Reborn, Zoom, Mozart in the Jungle, Desierto (2016), Neruda (2016), Coco (2017), The Kindergarten Teacher (2018).

His directional debut Déficit was released in 2007. Other movies Gael García Bernal has directed are Los Invisibles (2010). He is the co-owner of Canana Films, while Diego Luna is the other co-owner.

Co-stars

On the set of The Motorcycle Diaries, Gael García Bernal worked with Mía Maestro, Mercedes Morán, Marina Glezer, Jean Pierre Noher, Rodrigo de la Serna.

Gael García Bernal: Awards

For his dedicated work in theatre and movies, he has been nominated for BAFTA in 2005 for Best Performance by an Actor.

Bernal won a Golden Globe Award in 2016 for his work in Mozart in the Jungle and a Washington Office on Latin America's Human Rights Award in 2011.

Source: Bustle (Gael García Bernal wins Golden Globe)

Gael García Bernal: Net Worth, Salary

The net worth of Bernal is estimated to be around $12 million but the figure on his annual salary is unkown.

Gael García Bernal: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

On social media sites Gael García Bernal has millions of followers on Instagram and Twitter but is absent from Facebook.

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