While myriad actors dream of becoming Hollywood icons, DiCaprio has spent a lot of time and energy distancing himself from his megastar image, which was born when he starred in one of the highest-grossing blockbusters of all time: the 1997 epic
Titanic. As a charismatic and resourceful artist who wins the heart of the society gal played by Kate Winslet, DiCaprio became an international heartthrob. But the media's sudden and obsessive fascination with the young actor's private life prompted him to step back and carefully plan the rest of his career so he wouldn't forever be pigeonholed. Interestingly, his romantic
Titanic role was markedly different than the troubled characters he usually played: a junkie in
The Basketball Dairies, an absinthe-drinking poet in
Total Eclipse, a juvenile delinquent in
Marvin's Room. After starting out in commercials and TV as a child (he was the homeless kid taken in by the Seavers on the last season of
Growing Pains), DiCaprio concentrated on the big screen. But 1993 became his breakthrough year: In addition to winning raves for his turn as a rebellious '50s youth clashing with his abusive stepfather in
This Boy's Life, he also earned his first Oscar nod as Johnny Depp's sweet but slow brother in
What's Eating Gilbert Grape. DiCaprio subsequently appeared in modest hits (
Romeo + Juliet) and outright flops (
The Quick and the Dead), but nothing prepared him for
Titanic's reception and the subsequent hysteria. And even though he poked fun at his situation by appearing as a grossly distorted version of himself in Woody Allen's
Celebrity, he still experienced an inevitable backlash, and many of the critics who formerly championed him now dismissed him as only a moderately talented pretty boy. But DiCaprio was out to prove them wrong. In the '00s, he made a trio of films with Martin Scorsese: He played a tough Irish thug out to avenge his father's murder in
Gangs of New York; the brilliant but unstable billionaire Howard Hughes in
The Aviator,
an intense turn that earned him a second Oscar nod; and an undercover cop infiltrating the Boston underworld in
The Departed. He also found time to work with Steven Spielberg in
Catch Me If You Can, giving a winning performance as charming real-life con man Frank Abagnale. After years of hard work, DiCaprio had finally shed his teeny-bopper image, and in 2007 the industry acknowledged his versatility with a pair of Golden Globe and SAG nominations for his performances in
The Departed and
Blood Diamond, the latter of which also netted him a third Oscar nod.
Leonardo DiCaprio Fast Facts:
- Appeared in his first commercial at age 14.
- Met long-time friend Tobey Maguire when they auditioned for the 1990-91 sitcom Parenthood (DiCaprio landed the part). The pals went on to star in two of the top-grossing films in history: as of 2006, DiCaprio's Titanic (1997) was No. 1 with more than $600 million, while Maguire's sixth-ranked Spider-Man (2002) earned more than $400 million.
- Made a brief appearance as "First Guy" in Drew Barrymore's 1992 film Poison Ivy.
- Sued Playgirl magazine in 1998 to stop publication of nude photos of him; the case was settled out of court.
- An ardent environmentalist, he established the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 1998 to champion his favorite conservation causes.
- Leonardo DiCaprio Relationships:
- George DiCaprio - Father
- Irmelin DiCaprio - Mother
- Peggy DiCaprio - Stepmother
- Adam Farrar - Stepbrother
- Gisele Bündchen - Ex-significant Other
- Bar Refaeli - Significant Other
- Leonardo DiCaprio Awards:
- 1998 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - Nominee
- 2003 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - Nominee
- 2005 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - Winner
- 2007 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - Nominee
- 2007 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - Nominee
- 1994 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Nominee
- 2004 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 2006 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 1993 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role - Nominee
