Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer.
His first role was on the sitcom Growing Pains, but his breakthrough film performance came in This Boy's Life. This was quickly followed by What's Eating Gilbert Grape; his performance as the mentally handicapped brother of Gilbert (Johnny Depp) brought him nominations for the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. DiCaprio has also been nominated for two BAFTAs, three SAGs, and seven Golden Globes. He is a Golden Globe and a Silver Bear winner.
He gained fame for his role as Jack Dawson in Titanic, and has starred in many other successful films including Romeo + Juliet, Catch Me If You Can, and Blood Diamond, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Another Academy Award nomination came for his role as Howard Hughes in The Aviator, directed by Martin Scorsese. He has also worked with Scorsese in Gangs of New York, The Departed and Shutter Island.
DiCaprio was born in Los Angeles, California, the only child of a former legal secretary, and an underground comic artist and producer of comic books. His parents divorced when he was a year old and he lived mostly with his mother, although his father was around intermittently. During his childhood, DiCaprio was interested in baseball cards, comic books, and frequently visited museums with his father.
