A year in the life of a middle-class family's maid in Mexico City in the early 1970s.
The lengthy delivery scene in the hospital was only shot once. The doctors and nurses were real, not actors, hired to make the scene feel more authentic. As of 2018, the real Cleo, Liboria RodrÃguez (Libo), is still alive and still part of Alfonso Cuarón's family, or Alfonso Cuarón's family is still part of Libo's life. She has made cameos or brief appearances in several of his previous films, including Y Tu Mamá También (2001) in a scene where she brings Diego Luna a sandwich.