Leonardo Dicaprio

Leonardo Wlhelm DiCaprio was born on Nov. 11, 1974 in Hollywood. His mother, Irmelin named him after Leonardo DaVinci. His father, George separated from his mother before Leo was 1 yearr old. His first ever audition came at the age of 2 1/2 for a spot on "Romper Room". In 1987 he auditioned for tv commercials and was successful in landing a spot on an ad for matchbox cars. Small roles on made for tv shows followed . He appeared in "Mickey's Safety Club" and "How to Deal with Parents Who Take Drugs". From here he graduated to appearances in episodes of "Lassie" and a role as a teenage alchoholic in theTV soap opera "Santa Barbara". He also spent the final year of the series "Growing Pains" starring Alan Thicke playing a troubled homeless boy. Leonardo DeCaprio attended Seeds University Elementary Shcool where he studied performance art. He loved acting in front of an audience so much that he chose to spend his summers with a performing arts group doing live performances as well. His first role in a play came in high school in a play called "Circus Fantasy". After a brief stint acting for tv he moved on to feature films the first being "Critters III". His big break came in 1993 when he won the lead role in "This Boy's Life" beating more than 400 applicants for the spot. Robert Deniro starred in this film and Leo credits Deniro for inspiring him in his role which involved the sensitive subject matter of child abuse. The following year Leonardo was nominated for an academy award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?". In this film Leo played a mentally challenged boy named Arnie which earned him great reviews from the critics. The jump to superstardom came in 1996-7 when Leonardo was asked to take the lead role of Jack Dawson in "Titanic". To many movie-goers he was a virtual unknown and he won the hearts of young and old alike as they flocked 2 and 3 times to see him in this haunting romantic tale. The role of Jack Dawson in Titianic set the stage for his next feature film "The Man in the Iron Mask" which tied the Titanic at the box office and had everyone talking about Leonardo DiCaprio. Director Woody Allen was next to seek out young Leo to apprear in his film "Celebrity". With everyone waiting for Leonardo's next film, it was perfect timing for "The Beach" which often featured the young actor shirtless on the sandy beaches in Thailand. Leonardo DiCaprio was twice voted one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world by People magazine in 1997 and 1998. He is a talented actor who loves to imitate the people he meets and was once quoted as saying of himself, "The best thing about acting is that I get to lose myself in another character and actually get paid for it. It's a great outlet. As for myself, I am not sure who I am. It seems that I change every day."