Born to a Peruvian father and Spanish mother, Arteta grew up all over Latin America due to his father's itinerant existence as a Chrysler auto parts salesman. He went to high school in Costa Rica, but was expelled, and went to live with his sister in Boston, Massachusetts, graduating from The Cambridge School of Weston in Weston, Massachusetts. He then attended Harvard University's documentary program where he learned filmmaking. He eventually left for Wesleyan University, where he met future collaborators Matthew Greenfield and Mike White.
After graduating in 1989, his student film Every Day is a Beautiful Day won a Student Academy Award, which got him a job as a second assistant camera to Jonathan Demme on Cousin Bobby. Demme then recommended him to the American Film Institute, and Arteta received his MFA there in 1993.
His first film, Star Maps, debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. It was a critical hit, receiving five Independent Spirit Award nominations, including Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay. He then turned to directing television shows, helming episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street, Freaks and Geeks, and Six Feet Under.
Arteta won a 2001 Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature Under $500,000 for Chuck & Buck, which teamed him up with his fellow Wesleyan alumni Greenfield (producer) and White (screenwriter and star). The trio worked together once more on 2002's The Good Girl, starring Jennifer Aniston.
Miguel's current project is called Date School, a romantic comedy due out in 2008.
