 Bonuvier was the son of Peter Bonnevier, a servant of the queen of Sweden, Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, and Anna Elisabet Klisnick.Karl Gustav Bonuvier married the actress Ulrica Sofia Björling (1778–1809) and after her death to the actress Maria Christina Widbom (1791–1825), and had four daughters.He was active at the Stenborg Theatre in Stockholm in 1796–99, where he played the lover in "Den dubbla intrigen" ('Double intrigue') by Dumaniant.