LEONARDO DICAPRIO

Biography

Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio was born November 11, 1974, in Los Angeles. Although his parents separated shortly after his birth, his mother Irmelin and father George remain an important part of his life and career. Irmelin handles DiCaprio's finances, while George screens his son's scripts upon receiving them.

DiCaprio's acting career began on the small screen at an early age, with roles in several commercials and an appearance on Romper Room. He felt discouraged early on in his career when an agent rejected him for having a name that sounded too foreign. Leonardo DiCaprio could very well have become Lenny Williams, as the agent suggested he change his name, but DiCaprio refused.

He chose to stick to the origin of his name: While his mother was standing before a Leonardo DaVinci painting, she felt her unborn son kicking, and his mother named him after this moment. Not allowing rejections to prevent him from following his passion, DiCaprio found another agent, and he was on his way to becoming an actor.

leonardo on tv shows

By the time he landed his short-lived role on the sitcom Growing Pains, DiCaprio already had more than 20 commercials, and roles on the soap opera Santa Barbara, the TV series Parenthood and The New Lassie, as well as the feature film Critters 3 on his resume.

While on Growing Pains, DiCaprio beat out 400 other budding actors for his role in This Boy's Life in 1992. Costarring legendary actor Robert De Niro, DiCaprio's portrayal of Tobias Wolff caught the eye and attention of movie critics. His next film outing was in What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, as the autistic brother of Johnny Depp's character.

leonardo gets an academy award nomination
In order to prepare for the role, DiCaprio studied the mannerisms and thought processes of autistic children while visiting homes for the autistic. Despite the fact that he was almost refused the role because he was deemed too handsome for the part, the role garnered him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Not bad for a guy who never even studied acting.

After DiCaprio's next film roles, The Quick and the Dead, The Basketball Diaries and Total Eclipse, were box office disappointments, he decided to take the more commercial, mainstream route. And that he did with the MTV-ish adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, costarring Claire Danes. DiCaprio was now the leading man, and the love of every female teenybopper's life.

leonardo the superstar
When DiCaprio starred in the 1996 tearjerker Marvin's Room, no one could have predicted the colossal success that was coming the actor's way. In 1997, he costarred with Kate Winslet in the huge hit, Titanic, which was the most successful movie its time. After his lead role in the mega-blockbuster, DiCaprio stepped down from the handsome lead, to appear in Woody Allen's Celebrity, and in a dual role in the disappointing The Man in the Iron Mask. Water being no unchartered territory for DiCaprio, he was next seen in the film The Beach costarring French actress Virginie Ledoyen.

Leonardo next starred in epic films like Gangs Of New York (2002) Catch Me If You Can (2002) and The Aviator (2004), which weren't box office hits. He won not one but two Golden Globe nominations for his work in 2006's Bllod Diamond and The Departed.

Leonardo DiCaprio has been romantically linked to models Bridget Hall and Amber Valetta, and is currently tight with model Gisele Bundchen. If that isn't reason enough to envy him, we don't know what is.

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