Born November 11, 1974

November 11, 1974

Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio was born on November 11, 1974. He is of half Italian and half German descent.[1] His parents met while attending college together and subsequently moved to Los Angeles. He was named after artist Leonardo da Vinci, as his pregnant mother was standing in front of a Leonardo painting at a museum in Italy when DiCaprio first kicked.

Parents Divorce

December 1, 1975

His parents divorced when he was one. He lived mostly with his mother, although his father was around intermittently. During his childhood, he attended Canterbury Elementary School. He was interested in baseball cards, comic books and frequently visited museums, with his father. He also spent part of his childhood in Germany, where his maternal grandparents, Wilhelm and Helene, still lived. DiCaprio and his mother lived in several neighborhoods, such as Echo Park.

During his teen years, he lived at 1874 Hillhurst Avenue, Los Feliz district of Los Angeles, California (which was later converted into a local public library) and his mother worked several jobs to support them. He attended John Marshall High School, a few blocks away, before attending the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies.

He was inspired to become an actor after Adam Starr, a stepbrother from his father's re-marriage, began appearing in commercials. DiCaprio began looking for an agent at the age of twelve, but was initially turned down several times; one agent suggested that he anglicize his name to “Lenny Williams”, which DiCaprio rejected.

Acting Career Begins on Television

January 1, 1989

DiCaprio’s acting career began in 1989 when he was cast in the role of Garry Buckman on the TV version of the film Parenthood where he met Tobey Maguire, with whom he is best friends. Shortly after, the friends helped each other get their roles in their TV shows and movies. In that same year, DiCaprio appeared on the soap opera Santa Barbara in the role of Mason Capwell (in flashbacks as a teenager). From 1991 to 1992 he had the role of Luke Brower, a homeless boy, on Growing Pains.

First Film Role in "Critters 3"

January 1, 1991

His debut film role was as Josh in Critters 3 (1991), a film with a limited theatrical release, which was released on video soon after.

Breakthrough Role in "This Boy's Life"

April 9, 1993

Two years later, his breakthrough came with the role of Toby in This Boy's Life (1993) co-starring with Robert De Niro and Ellen Barkin, which led the New York Film Critics and the National Society of Film Critics to name him runner-up for Best Supporting Actor.

Academy Award Nomination at age 19

December 25, 1993

In the same year he also portrayed a mentally handicapped boy in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993). The role earned him his first Academy Award nomination, at the age of 19.

A Busy Year: 1995

January 1, 1995

That year he starred in four films; the first film, The Quick and The Dead, he played Gene Hackman's alleged son, Fee, starring alongside Sharon Stone and a soon-to-be-famous Russell Crowe. It is said Stone helped pay his salary to star in the film.

After The Quick and The Dead, he starred in Total Eclipse, a fictionalized account of the passionate and violent homosexual relationship between the two 19th century French poets, Paul Verlaine (David Thewlis) and Arthur Rimbaud (Leonardo DiCaprio). River Phoenix was originally cast as the lead in the film, but after his 1993 death, DiCaprio was cast.

The black-and-white movie Don's Plum, a low-budget drama featuring the actor and some of his friends (including Tobey Maguire), Kevin Connolly, Jenny Lewis, Scott Bloom, Ethan Suplee, Medow Sisto, Heather McComb, Amber Benson and Jeremy Sisto was filmed between 1995 and 1996. Its release was later limited to distribution outside the US and Canada by a mutual agreement between DiCaprio, Maguire, RD Robb, the film's director, David Stutman and Dale Wheatley the film's producers and Jerry Meadors the film's executive producer. Don's Plum had its world premiere on February 9, 2001 in Berlin.

That year he also starred as Jim Carroll, a heroin addict in The Basketball Diaries.

Romeo + Juliet

November 1, 1996

His next film, 1996's Romeo + Juliet, a slick and updated modern-day version of William Shakespeare's play of the same name, directed by Australian director Baz Luhrmann again featured DiCaprio as the male lead, with Claire Danes as Juliet. DiCaprio was reportedly so dedicated to the project that he flew coach class for free to Australia a year before production started to workshop the film. Following Romeo + Juliet, in 1996 DiCaprio starred in Marvin's Room alongside Meryl Streep and Diane Keaton.

Lifted to Stardom by a Sinking Ship: Titanic!

October 31, 1997

The move from "star" to "superstar" came when DiCaprio played Jack Dawson in the 1997 blockbuster Titanic, the highest grossing movie ever. He plays a young poor boy who gambles a ticket on to the great ship, and falls in love with rich Rose (who is engaged). The film also received 11 Academy Awards. Over the course of the next few years he would become a household name worldwide, synonymous with labels such as "teenage heart-throb" and sex symbol. People placed him in their annual "Most Beautiful People" issue on numerous occasions. At the peak of his celebrity in 1998, DiCaprio fronted scores of magazine covers ranging from Vanity Fair to Rolling Stone, and was once the most searched for personality in the early years of the Internet.

"Celebrity" and More Celebrity

September 7, 1998

n 1998, DiCaprio agreed to play the spoof role of his real life "teen idol" persona during this period, in Woody Allen's satirical parody, Celebrity. Also that year he played dual roles as evil King Louis XIV and his imprisoned twin brother Philippe in The Man in the Iron Mask which was a loose adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's novels. What came apropos with fame were tales in the tabloids of excesses and indulgence. In the Japanese media, he was referred to as Leo-sama ("Lord"), with the "sama" suffix given to show the utmost respect. Time summed up the fame superhighway and its trappings in an interview with the actor in 2000, reporting:

DiCaprio still thinks of himself as an edgy indie actor, not the Tiger Beat cover boy. "I have no connection with me during that whole Titanic Phenomenon and what my face became around the world," DiCaprio commented, adding, "I'll never reach that state of popularity again, and I don't expect to. It's not something I'm going to try to achieve either."

Controversy on "The Beach"

Feburary 2, 2000

The headlines and controversy failed to let up, peaking when he starred in a project by Danny Boyle based on Alex Garland's backpacker cult classic The Beach that year. Because of clashes with the Thai authorities over the use of the island of Ko Phi Phi in 1999, the film garnered more bad press than expected.

Controversy arose due to 20th Century Fox's bulldozing and landscaping of the natural beach setting of Ko Phi Phi Leh to make it more "paradise-like". The production altered some sand dunes and cleared some coconut trees and grass to widen the beach. Fox set aside a fund to reconstruct and return the beach to its natural state, however lawsuits were filed by environmentalists who believed the damage to the ecosystem was permanent and restoration attempts had failed.

The lawsuits dragged on for years. In 2006, Thailand's Supreme Court upheld an appeal court ruling that the filming had harmed the environment and ordered that damage assessments be made. Defendants in the case included 20th Century Fox and some Thai government officials.

After the film premiered in Thailand in 2000, some Thai politicians were upset at the way Thailand was depicted in the film, and called for it to be banned. The depiction of the drugs culture gave Thailand a bad image and a Buddha image in a bar was cited as "blasphemous."

According to the Lonely Planet's Thailand guidebook, the 2004 tsunami dramatically improved the look of Maya Bay (the actual name of the beach where the movie was filmed). This was due to the fact that the high waves had cleaned up the beach and removed all the landscaping the Fox production team had added

Working With Spielberg and Scorcese

December 20, 2002

In 2002, DiCaprio began a shift away from his stereotypical image and moved to engage himself with critically acclaimed directors by starring in two epic movies: Gangs of New York (directed by Martin Scorsese), and Catch Me If You Can (directed by Steven Spielberg).

The Aviator

December 17, 2004

Having forged a collaboration with Scorsese when filming "Gangs of New York", the two paired again for a biopic of American businessman Howard Hughes in The Aviator, a film that scored DiCaprio a second Academy Award nomination, for Best Actor.

Although the Oscar evaded him, Dicaprio won Best Actor awards from both the Golden Globes and MTV Movie Awards.

Assaulted at a Party!

June 20, 2005

In January, 2008, extradition processes began against Aretha Wilson, 37, who escaped to Toronto, Ontario, Canada after seriously injuring Leonardo DiCaprio with a broken beer bottle at a June 20, 2005 Hollywood Hills party. She also has pending aggravated assault cases.

Recent Work: "The Departed" and "Blood Diamond"

October 6, 2006

DiCaprio continued his run with Scorsese (some claim him to be Scorsese's "new De Niro") in the 2006 film The Departed, as Billy Costigan, a smart undercover cop in Boston. His next film was Blood Diamond, released on December 8, 2006. Set during the Sierra Leone Civil War in 1999, the film shows a country torn apart by the struggle between government soldiers and rebel forces. The film portrays many of the atrocities of that war, including the rebels' amputation of people's hands to stop them from voting in upcoming elections.

While the film itself received mixed reviews, DiCaprio was praised for the authenticity of his Zimbabwean Afrikaaner accent, known as a difficult accent of English to emulate. He is also reported to have purchased the rights to Blink, Malcolm Gladwell's book on the power and validity of first impressions, in order to produce a film based on it.

Environmentalist DiCaprio and "Live Earth"

July 7, 2007

A committed environmentalist, DiCaprio has received praise from environmental groups for opting to fly on commercial flights instead of chartering private jets, which use more fuel. He has also mentioned that he drives a hybrid car and that his house has solar panels. His actions have inspired other celebrities, such as Orlando Bloom and Penelope Cruz. In an article in Ukula about his new film 11th Hour (which he co-wrote, co-produced and narrated), DiCaprio cites global warming as "the number one environmental challenge." DiCaprio and former vice-president Al Gore announced at the 2007 Oscar ceremony that the Oscars had incorporated environmentally intelligent practices throughout the planning and production processes, thus affirming their commitment to the environment. On July 7, 2007, DiCaprio presented at the American leg of Live Earth. During the 2004 Presidential election, DiCaprio campaigned and donated to John Kerry's presidential bid. In March 2008, DiCaprio endorsed Barack Obama for the presidency.

In 1998, he and his mother donated $35,000 dollars for a state-of-the-art “Leonardo DiCaprio Computer Center” at the Los Feliz branch of the Los Angeles Public Library (1874 Hillhurst Avenue) which happens to be the site of his childhood home. It was rebuilt after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, and opened in early 1999. There are commemorative placards and curious fans are welcomed at the library.