Laura Beatriz Esquivel Valdés (born 30 September 1950) is a renowned Mexican novelist, screenwriter, and politician. She served in the Chamber of Deputies for the Morena Party from 2015 to 2018. Her first novel, Como agua para chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate), became a bestseller in both Mexico and the United States and was later adapted into an award-winning film.

Laura Esquivel is recognized for incorporating her teaching abilities into her writing. She gained international attention with her novel Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances and Home Remedies and The Law of Love. In both books, she provides her readers with profound life lessons. During an online interview, she mentioned, "As a teacher, I realize that what one learns in school doesn't serve for very much at all, that the only thing one can really learn is self-understanding, and this is something that can't be taught."