Lee Edward Unkrich (born August 8, 1967) is an American film director, editor and writer. He is best known for his work with animation studio Pixar, which he joined in 1994 as an editor before being credited as a co-director on Toy Story 2 (1999).
After his 25-year tenure at the company, Unkrich retired in January 2019 to spend more time with his family and pursue other interests.[2][3] However, he returned to the studio a few years later and is currently directing a sequel to Coco.
Unkrich was Vice-President of Editorial and Layout at Pixar.[citation needed] Before joining the studio, Unkrich worked for several years in television as an editor and director. In 1994 he was hired by Pixar as a short-term employee for a period of four weeks, but ended up staying for 25 years.[7] He is the 2011 recipient of the University of Southern California's Mary Pickford Distinguished Alumni Award recognizing alumni contributions to the cinematic arts.[citation needed]
On January 18, 2019, Unkrich announced he was leaving Pixar to spend time with his family and pursue interests that have "long been back-burnered."[8] In 2023, Unkrich was revealed to have occasionally consulted at Pixar since leaving in 2019.[9]
In 2023, Taschen released Unkrich's book Stanley Kubrick's The Shining in a limited collector's edition. The book was edited by Unkrich, and written by J. W. Rinzler and Unkrich.[citation needed]
In March 2025, during the Disney Shareholder Meeting, CEO Bob Iger announced that the sequel to Coco was in early development, with Unkrich returning to co-direct the film with Adrian Molina.[11]
Personal life
Unkrich is married to Laura Century and they have three children.[1] Unkrich came out as bisexual to his family and friends in 2021 and came out publicly in 2022.[12][13]
↑ Welk, Brian (January 18, 2019). "Lee Unkrich, Director of 'Coco' and 'Toy Story 3,' to Leave Pixar After 25 Years". TheWrap. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019. After twenty-five incredible years, I've decided to leave Pixar. The time has come for new adventures. I'm not leaving to make films at another studio; instead, I look forward to spending much-needed time with my family and pursuing interests that have long been back-burnered.
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