Guillermo del Toro Gómez was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico on October 9, 1964.¹⁾

He grew up in a devout Catholic family.²⁾

Del Toro began playing with his father's Super 8 camera when he was approximately eight years old, producing short films with Planet of the Apes toys and other materials.³⁾

One short featured a “serial killer potato” with global ambitions; it slaughtered del Toro's mother and brothers before walking outdoors and getting smashed by a vehicle.⁴⁾