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Flixster members are collaborating to create the definitive resource for Leonardo DiCaprio information on the Internet. We're adding all the images, info, and ideas that best tell this actor's unique story. To add your knowledge of Leonardo DiCaprio, just log in and click the EasyEdit button at the top of the wiki pages. (Click here for help) | Leonardo DiCaprio mini-bio: Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is a versatile American actor & producer known for his performance in critically acclaimed movies like The Aviator, Blood Diamond, The Departed and also Titanic - the biggest blockbusters of all time. He has won the Golden Globe for ‘The Aviator’ & has been nominated thrice for Oscar.
Early Childhood
Born in the town - Los Angeles, that would later make him famous, DiCaprio came into the world on November 11, 1974. He is the only son (He has a step brother, Adam) of Irmalin, a German immigrant mother and George, a comic book artist father who separated shortly after his birth. He allegedly received his first name when he kicked his pregnant mother from the inside while she was admiring a Leonardo Da Vinci painting in the Uffizi.
Initial Career
In 1988, at fourteen, Leonardo began appearing in a series of commercials and educational films. This tall, slender, boyishly handsome young actor proved engaging in TV family sitcoms ("Parenthood", "Growing Pains") and endured a horror sequel ("Critters 3" 1991) before triumphing over 400 others to win the role of Tobias Wolff in "This Boy's Life" (1993) after a four-month casting search. The film also starred Robert De Niro and Ellen Barkin. His performance, as the troubled, abused teenager was critically acclaimed and Hollywood soon took notice. Later in 1993, he co-starred as the mentally handicapped brother to Johnny Depp in What's Eating Gilbert Grape. His performance earned him both an Oscar and Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actor. Subsequent roles in three 1995 films, Sam Raimi's western -The Quick and the Dead; Total Eclipse, in which he played the bisexual poet Rimbaud; and The Basketball Diaries, in which he starred as a struggling junkie, all put the actor in the limelight, but it wasn't until the following year that he became a bona fide star. This transition was made possible by his portrayal of Romeo in the hugely popular William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet opposite Claire Danes.
Leo-Mania (Titanic hysteria)
After starring with Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, and Robert DeNiro in Marvin's Room (1996), DiCaprio was catapulted into the stratosphere of international fame with his starring role alongside Kate Winslet in James Cameron's epic – Titanic. The movie went on to become the biggest blockbusters of all time and received 11 Oscars. DiCaprio's much discussed exclusion from the nominations did nothing to hurt his popularity, and somewhat ironically, he next chose to parody his own celebrity with an appearance in Woody Allen's Celebrity (1998) as a badly behaved movie star. He became a household name worldwide, synonymous with labels such as "teenage heart-throb" and "sex-symbol”. His popularity at the time was dubbed "Leo-mania", comparing his sudden fame and fan frenzy to that of the Beatles in the 1960s, known as Beatle mania.
Metamorphosis into a versatile & critically acclaimed actor
DiCaprio continued in period fare with the dual role of French King Louis XIV and his doppelganger in the 1998 remake of “The Man in the Iron Mask" and the highly anticipated ‘The Beach’ . Though Leonardo got acclaim for his acting, the movies failed to impress at the box-office. These initial post-Titanic roles, however, could be considered a regrouping before DiCaprio regained his status as one of the rare young actors who could command both commercial and critical success. He began collaborating with another famous Italian-American in the industry, Martin Scorsese, for the epic Gangs of New York (2002), in which DiCaprio was cast as the protagonist in a tale of gangland violence in early America. This was followed by Catch Me If You Can, directed by Steven Spielberg. Both films were very well received by critics. Forging collaboration with Scorsese, the two paired again for a biopic of American aviation pioneer Howard Hughes in The Aviator, a film that scored DiCaprio a second Academy Award nomination, for Best Actor. After years of hard work, DiCaprio had finally shed his teeny-bopper image, and in 2007 the industry acknowledged his versatility with a pair of Golden Globe and SAG nominations for his performances in The Departed and Blood Diamond, the latter of which also netted him a third Oscar nod.
The hybrid-car driving DiCaprio has also been an outspoken proponent of environmentalism. He produced, co-wrote and partly narrated on screen his environmental documentary, The 11th Hour. 
Leonardo DiCaprio Fast Facts:- Appeared in his first commercial at age 14.
- Met long-time friend Tobey Maguire when they auditioned for the 1990-91 sitcom Parenthood (DiCaprio landed the part). The pals went on to star in two of the top-grossing films in history: DiCaprio's Titanic (1997) was No. 1 with more than $600 million, while Maguire's sixth-ranked Spider-Man (2002)earned more than $400 million.
- Made a brief appearance as "First Guy" in Drew Barrymore's 1992 film Poison Ivy.
- Sued Playgirl magazine in 1998 to stop publication of nude photos of him; the case was settled out of court.
- An ardent environmentalist, he established the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 1998 to champion his favorite conservation causes.
- Attended the same high school as Bo Barrett, Heidi Fleiss, Anne-Marie Johnson, and Julie Newmar.
- Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson are his favorite actors.
| VITAL STATS | Leonardo DiCaprio Information:
| | Full Name: Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio | | Height: 6'1" | | Nickname(s): Leo , Lenny D | | Notable feature(s): Gorgeous baby blue eyes | | Education: John Marshall Highschool, Los Angeles, CA , Seeds Elementary School at UCLA | | Family: Father George and Mother Irmelin | | Resides in: Los Angeles | | Religious affiliations: Roman Catholic | | Personal interests/hobbies: Traveling, Cycling | | Charities/Causes: Environmentally-friendly activist | | Other: Best friends are actors Tobey Maguire, Lukas Haas and Kate Winslet | | |
nehasajidaliposted 11 days ago
