Leonardo DiCaprio Biography

LEONARDO DICAPRIO

Date of Birth: November 11 , 1974

Anyone who saw this Hollywood, California, native's first major starring role opposite Robert DeNiro and Ellen Barkin in This Boy's Life (1993) knew a star was born. DiCaprio sizzled on the screen, dominating every scene he appeared in with his acting elders.

So powerful was he in the role that the New York Film Critics and the National Society of Film Critics named him runner-up for Best Supporting Actor. His outstanding performance in his next film, What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993), garnered DiCaprio his first Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.

As most everyone probably knows by now, his first name is supposed to have derived from his first kick he delivered in his mother's (Irmalin) womb as she stood in front of a painting by Leonardo DaVinci at Italy's Uffizi gallery. Those who didn't know this probably found out after the deluge of publicity that followed his starring role as the doomed lover Jack Dawson in Titanic (1997).

DiCaprio was the reason many young girls and women went back time and time again to see the film, making it the biggest blockbuster of all time and pushing DiCaprio's comparatively minuscule Titanic (1997) salary of $2.5 million up to the $21 million mark. It was even re-released in 3D in 2012.

DiCaprio has certainly come a long way from the five-year-old boy who once appeared on TV's Romper Room and was almost kicked off the show for misbehaving. That first TV experience turned into a series of commercials, some educational films ("Mickey's Safety Club") and occasional small roles in TV series, including recurring roles on the soap Santa Barbara and the sitcom Growing Pains.

But then This Boy's Life (1993) appeared and fame came calling for DiCaprio.

In 2005, after receiving his fourth Golden Globe nomination, DiCaprio finally took home the coveted prize for his portrayal as Howard Hughes in The Aviator (2004). He went on to receive an Academy Award Leading Actor nomination for the same role, and although he didn't win, he was nominated two years later for Blood Diamond (2006). In 2009, he received another Golden Globe nomination for Revolutionary Road (2008), and though he didn't win, he did win a Kids' Choice award that year for his environmental work.

In 2010, his mystery/thriller Shutter Island was not only well-received by critics, but was a box office hit, generating over $127 million domestically. After another box office hit that year with the Oscar-winning fantasy Inception (2010), he next worked with Clint Eastwood, who directed him in the title role in J. Edgar (2011). DiCaprio starred alongside Jamie Foxx in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (2012) and in the film adaptation of a classic, The Great Gatsby (2013). He then starred in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), for which he won a second Golden Globe and received his fourth Academy Award nomination. He starred in The Revenant (2016), which earned him his third Golden Globe award and his first Academy Award for Best Actor. For his work in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood(2019) alongside Brad Pitt, DiCaprio received nomations from the Academy Awards, Golden Globes and the BAFTA awards in the Leading Actor category.

Filmography:

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
The Revenant (2016)
The Great Gatsby (2013)
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Django Unchained (2012)
J. Edgar (2011)
Inception (2010)
Shutter Island (2010)
Revolutionary Road (2008)
Body of Lies (2008)
Blood Diamond (2006)
The Departed (2006)
The Aviator (2004)
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Gangs of New York (2002)
Don’s Plum (2001)
The Beach (2000)
The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)
Celebrity (1998)
Titanic (1997)
Marvin’s Room (1996)
Romeo and Juliet (1996)
Total Eclipse (1995)
The Basketball Diaries (1995)
The Quick and the Dead (1995)
The Foot Shooting Party (1994)
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
This Boy’s Life (1993)
Poison Ivy (1992)
Critters 3 (1991)