Tim Burton

Tim Burton was married to German artist Lena Gieseke from 1987 until their divorce in 1991. He later had relationships with actress Lisa Marie, from 1993 to 2001, and actress Helena Bonham Carter, whom he met while filming Planet of the Apes in 2001.

Burton and Bonham Carter had two children, a son and a daughter, before separating in 2014. Burton began a relationship with Italian actress Monica Bellucci in 2022, and they separated in 2025.

Burton grew up in Burbank, California, where he spent his childhood drawing, painting, watching fantasy and horror films, and making silent stop-motion films in his backyard. At 13, he made The Island of Doctor Agor, an 8 mm adaptation of The Island of Doctor Moreau. He later attended the California Institute of the Arts, studying character animation and making the short films Stalk of the Celery Monster and King and Octopus.

After graduating from CalArts in 1979, Burton joined Walt Disney Productions as an animator, storyboard artist, graphic designer, art director, and concept artist. His work was associated with The Fox and the Hound, Tron, and The Black Cauldron. At Disney, he directed the black-and-white stop-motion short Vincent in 1982, narrated by Vincent Price, followed by Hansel and Gretel and the live-action short Frankenweenie.

Burton made his feature directing debut with Pee-wee's Big Adventure in 1985 after actor Paul Reubens saw Frankenweenie and selected him to direct a film centered on Pee-wee Herman. The comedy became a surprise success and established Burton as a director with an unusual visual style.

He gained wider recognition with Beetlejuice in 1988, a supernatural comedy horror film starring Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, and Winona Ryder. Burton then directed Batman in 1989, starring Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as the Joker. The film became a major commercial success and won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction.

Burton directed Edward Scissorhands in 1990 from a character concept he had drawn as a teenager. The film starred Johnny Depp as Edward and marked the beginning of Burton's long professional collaboration with Depp. Vincent Price played Edward's inventor, making one of his final screen appearances.

Burton followed it with Batman Returns in 1992, again starring Michael Keaton, and produced The Nightmare Before Christmas in 1993. Henry Selick directed The Nightmare Before Christmas from Burton's story, world, and characters, while Burton also wrote the poem on which the film was based. The film became a major stop-motion cult classic.

The 1994 biographical film Ed Wood portrayed the filmmaker known for low-budget science-fiction and horror movies. Johnny Depp played the title role, while Martin Landau portrayed Bela Lugosi and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Burton next directed the science-fiction comedy Mars Attacks! in 1996 and the gothic horror film Sleepy Hollow in 1999, which starred Depp as Ichabod Crane and won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction.

Burton's collaborations with Johnny Depp continued through Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and other projects. Helena Bonham Carter also appeared in several Burton films, including Planet of the Apes, Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd, Alice in Wonderland, and Dark Shadows. Composer Danny Elfman scored most of Burton's films, beginning with Pee-wee's Big Adventure.

Burton directed Big Fish in 2003, followed by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and his first feature-length stop-motion film, Corpse Bride, in 2005. His other major films include Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Alice in Wonderland, Dark Shadows, Frankenweenie, Big Eyes, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, and Dumbo.

In 2022, Burton directed several episodes of the Netflix comedy-horror series Wednesday, his first major television directing work since the 1980s. He returned to the world of Beetlejuice with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in 2024, directing Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder in the sequel. He was also announced as director of a remake of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.

Burton has continued to work as an illustrator, painter, and photographer alongside filmmaking. He wrote and illustrated The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories, published in 1997, and contributed drawings and sketches to The Art of Tim Burton and The Napkin Art of Tim Burton: Things You Think About in a Bar.

The Museum of Modern Art presented a major retrospective of his work in New York from 2009 to 2010. The exhibition later traveled internationally, while The World of Tim Burton was shown in cities including Prague, São Paulo, Hong Kong, and Seoul. Burton received the Venice International Film Festival's Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2007, France's Order of Arts and Letters in 2010, and served as president of the Cannes Film Festival jury in 2010.