Leonardo DiCaprio: from begining to Success
leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (/dɨˈkæpri.oʊ/; born November 11, 1974)[1] is an American actor and film producer. He has been nominated for five Academy Awards and ten Golden Globe Awards. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama for The Aviator (2004) and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). He has also been nominated by the Screen Actors Guild, Satellite Awards, and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
DiCaprio, an only child, was born in Los Angeles, California. His mother, Irmelin (née Indenbirken), is a former legal secretary; born in Germany, she moved with her family from Oer-Erkenschwick in the Ruhr to the U.S. during the 1950s. His father, George DiCaprio, is an underground comic artist and producer and distributor of comic books.[4] DiCaprio's father is of half Italian (from the Naples area) and half German (from Bavaria) descent.[1][5][6] DiCaprio's maternal grandfather, Wilhelm Indenbirken, was German.[7] His maternal grandmother, Helene Indenbirken (1915–2008),[8] a German citizen, was born as Yelena Smirnova in Russia.[9][10]
DiCaprio's parents met while attending college and subsequently moved to Los Angeles.[1] He was named Leonardo because his pregnant mother was looking at a Leonardo da Vinci painting in a museum in Italy when DiCaprio first kicked.[11] His parents divorced when he was a year old and he lived mostly with his mother. The two lived in several Los Angeles neighborhoods, such as Echo Park, and at 1874 Hillhurst Avenue, Los Feliz district (which was later converted into a local public library), while his mother worked several jobs to support them.[1] He attended Seeds Elementary School and graduated from John Marshall High School a few blocks away, after attending the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies for four years.[12] DiCaprio spent part of his childhood in Germany with his maternal grandparents, Wilhelm and Helene. He speaks German fluently.[13]
DiCaprio's next film was The Great Gatsby again with Baz Luhrmann (who filmed with him Romeo + Juliet in 1996), a big screen adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel, also starring Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire; the film was released on May 10, 2013.[72][73] It received mixed reviews from critics;[74] however, DiCaprio's portrayal as Jay Gatsby was praised by critics. Critic Rafer Guzman of Newsday praised DiCaprio by stating, "As for Leonardo DiCaprio, he is now the Gatsby to beat. Despite a borderline comedic entrance -- haloed by fireworks and accompanied by Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue"—DiCaprio nails this maddeningly enigmatic character. He's as tough as Alan Ladd in '49, as suave as Redford in '74, but also vulnerable, touching, funny, a faker, a human. You hear it all in Gatsby's favorite phrase, "old sport," a verbal tic that stumped other actors. It's a tremendous, hard-won performance."[75] Matt Zoller Seitz of Roger Ebert.com described his performance as Gatsby as "The movie's greatest and simplest special effect," and states "This is an iconic performance — maybe his career best."[76] The film grossed $348 million worldwide[77] and became Luhrmann's highest grossing film.[78]
Source: wikipedia.com