Lee Unkrich

Lee Unkrich is an American film director, editor, and writer best known for his influential work at Pixar Animation Studios, where he helped shape modern animated storytelling. Born on August 8, 1967 in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in the nearby village of Chagrin Falls, Unkrich grew up as the only child of Emilie and Robert Unkrich, a World War II veteran and artist. From an early age he performed on stage at The Cleveland Play House, an experience that sparked his fascination with narrative and visual composition. After graduating from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts in 1990, he spent several years editing and directing television programs before a brief four‑week contract brought him to Pixar in 1994, a stint that unexpectedly turned into a quarter‑century career. He quickly rose to the role of Vice‑President of Editorial and Layout, contributing to landmark projects such as Toy Story 2 (1999) where he earned his first co‑director credit, and continued to shape the studio’s aesthetic on Monsters, Inc. (2001) and Finding Nemo (2003). Unkrich made his solo directorial debut with Toy Story 3 (2010), a film that won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and showcased his skill at blending humor, heart, and visual innovation. He followed this success with Coco (2017), another critically acclaimed winner of two Oscars, and later returned to co‑direct its sequel in 2025. Beyond his film work, Unkrich edited a limited‑edition book on Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and received USC’s Mary Pickford Distinguished Alumni Award in 2011. In 2019 he stepped away from Pixar to focus on family, having married Laura Century in 1993 and raised three children, while remaining an occasional consultant to the studio. His openness about his bisexual identity in 2022 has further highlighted his commitment to authenticity both on and off the screen.