Timothy William Burton was born on August 25, 1958 in Burbank, California, where he also was raised. He is the son of Bill and Jean Burton and has a younger brother named Daniel, an artist. He is estranged from his mother and brother. He was a very quiet person growing up, yet he had a passion for watching movies. He spent most of his childhood as a recluse, drawing his own animations and watching old films.

In 1976 he received a scholarship for the California Institute of the Arts, a college founded by Walt Disney. He decided that animation was what he wanted to do and in 1979 he began working as an animator on the studio's The Fox and the Hound. His first movie was "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" starring Pee-Wee Herman. Since then he has developed a reputation for his high quality, dark and stylised films, such as Edward Scissorhands and Corpse Bride.

He was married to Lena Gieseke between February 1989 and December 1991, and engaged to Lisa Marie between 1992 and 2001.

In 2001, he bought the house next door to his partner, Helena Bonham Carter, and they connected the properties.

He has two children with Helena: Billy Ray (b. October 2003) and Nell (b. December 2007).

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