Lelio was born in Mendoza, Argentina and moved to Viña del Mar, Chile at the age of 2 with his Chilean mother Valeria. He describes his early life as "nomadic": "Up to the age of 21, I was moving between different cities in Chile. I lived for a time in the United States, and also in Viña del Mar; my maternal family is from Viña...essentially I was never more than two or three years in the same city."Ernesto Garratt Viñes, "Sebastián Lelio: Hacer 'Gloria' fue entrar a un mundo desconocido", diario.elmercurio.com, 1 February 2013.
