Film debut of Grace Gummer, Meryl Streep's daughter. She plays Streep's character, Clara, as a young girl.
After numerous unpleasant meetings with filmmakers, Isabel Allende had instructed her agent to stop all discussion about making a film of her novel. It wasn't until Bille August screened his Pele the Conqueror for her that she changed her mind. An hour into that screening, she knew that he was the right director.
Principal photography took place in Denmark, but some scenes were filmed in Lisbon and Alentejo, Portugal.
The women in the family (Nívea, Clara, Blanca and Alba) are all named after Spanish words that evoke the color white.