Leonardo Dicaprio Biography

Leonardo DiCaprio, actor

Birthdate: November 11, 1974

Birthplace: Los Angeles, California

Sign: Scorpio

Leonardo DiCaprio's character may not have survived when the "Titanic" sunk, but thanks to the blockbuster movie the actor became a superstar and known world wide.

DiCaprio played Jack Dawson in the 1997 movie "Titanic" which is considered the highest grossing movie worldwide of all time and the movie received 11 Academy Awards. His role made him a household name and a teenage heart-throb and at the height of his "Titanic" fame his faced appeared on countless magazine covers and he was listed as one of the "Most Beautiful People" by People Magazine.

Following the success of "Titanic," DiCaprio went on to star in other successful films including a number directed by Martin Scorsese such as "Gangs of New York," "The Aviator" and "The Departed."

His partnership with Scorsese has caused people to compare DiCaprio with actor Robert De Niro.

DiCaprio was born in Los Angeles, California, on November 11, 1974. He is the only child of George DiCaprio who was an underground comic artist and distributor of comic books. His mother Irmelin Indenbirken, who was from Germany, worked as a legal secretary.

DiCaprio's parents divorced when he was only one and he spent most of his life living with his mother. He is often asked how he received his name. As the story goes, he was named after the artist Leonardo da Vinci because his pregnant mother was standing in front of the da Vinci museum in Italy when she first felt DiCaprio kick.

DiCaprio began looking for an agent at the age of 12, but was turned down several times. In 1989 he was cast in the television version of the film "Parenthood" and that is where he met Tobey Maguire. The two actors have remained friends ever since. DiCaprio appeared in the soap opera "Santa Barbara" and from 1991 to 1992 he had the role of Luke Brower on "Growing Pains."

In 1993 DiCaprio starred in "This Boy's Life" with Robert De Niro and Ellen Barkin and was named runner-up as Best Supporting Actor by the New York Film Critics and the National Society of Film Critics.

That same year, at the age of 19, he received an Academy Award nomination for his role as a mentally handicapped boy in the movie "What's Eating Gilbert Grape."

Some of DiCaprio's other movies include "Romeo + Juliet," "Marvin's Room," "The Man in the Iron Mask," "Catch Me If You Can," "Blood Diamond" and "The Departed."

He has been nominated for Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards, winning the Best Actor Golden Globe for his performance in "The Aviator." The Hollywood Film Festival named him Actor of the Year in 2004.

In his personal life, DiCaprio has been romantically linked to supermodels. He dated Gisele Bundchen from 2000 to 2005 and is currently dating Israeli model Bar Refaeli.

He is known for being a committed environmentalist who drives hybrid cars and works relentlessly to promote environmental friendly practices.

In an effort to give back, he and his mother donated $35,000 to a state-of-the-art "Leonardo DiCaprio Computer Center" at the Los Feliz branch of the Los Angeles Public Library that now sits on the site of his childhood home.

DiCaprio owns homes in Los Angeles and New York and it has been reported that he bought an island in Belize which he plans to turn into an eco-friendly resort.

DiCaprio is ranked the ninth Best Working Actor Today by the Screen Directory and in May of 2007 was listed among the 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time.