Laura Esquivel began her career as a screenwriter. Her 1990 debut novel, Like Water for Chocolate, became a literary sensation, translated into over forty languages and selling over 10 million copies worldwide. The 1992 motion picture based on the novel, with a script written by Esquivel, garnered international acclaim and broke box-office records for a foreign language film. A major ballet adaptation choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon premiered at the Royal Opera House in 2022.


Esquivel's subsequent novels, The Law of Love, Swift As Desire and Malinche, shared success amongst critics and the public alike. Her most recent titles, Tita's Diary and The Colours of My Past, complete a trilogy that began with Like Water for Chocolate.