Trueba studied Imagen at the Facultad de Ciencias de la Información,
was cinema critic for the newspaper 'El País' and for 'La Guía del
Ocio' and also founded the journal "Casablanca". At the movies his
first success was Opera Prima (1980)
following the style of the "comedia madrileña". He had major success
with
Sé infiel y no mires con quién (1985)
starting a longer colaboration with the producer
Andrés Vicente Gómez.
Quote on receiving the 1994 Oscar for Best Foreign Film (Belle Epoque (1992)): "I would like to believe in God in order to thank Him. But I just
believe in Billy Wilder, so thank you, Mr. Wilder".