For his father, see. Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio ; born November 11, 1974 is an American actor and film producer. DiCaprio began his career by appearing in television commercials in the late 1980s. He next had recurring roles in various television series, such as the soap opera and the sitcom. He starred in the film adaptation of the memoir 1993 , and received acclaim and his first nomination for his supporting role in 1993. He gained public recognition with leading roles in 1995 and the romantic drama 1996. He achieved international fame as a star in 's epic romance 1997 , which became the to that point. Since 2000, DiCaprio has received critical acclaim for his work in a wide range of film genres. DiCaprio's subsequent films include 1998 , the biographical crime drama 2002 , and the epic historical drama 2002 , which marked his first of with director. He was acclaimed for his performances in the political war thriller , the neo-noir crime drama both 2006 , the espionage thriller 2008 , the drama 2008 , the psychological thriller 2010 , the science fiction thriller 2010 , the biographical film 2011 , the western 2012 , and the period drama 2013. DiCaprio's portrayals of in 2004 and in 2015 won him the for. His performance as in 2013 won him the Golden Globe award for. He also won the for Best Actor and for his performance in The Revenant. DiCaprio is the founder of his own production company,. Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio was born on November 11, 1974, in Los Angeles. He is the only child of Irmelin née Indenbirken , a legal secretary, and , an artist and producer and distributor of comic books. DiCaprio's father is of Italian from and German from descent. DiCaprio's maternal grandfather, Wilhelm Indenbirken, was German. His maternal grandmother, Helene Indenbirken born Yelena Smirnova; 1915—2008 , was a Russian-born German citizen. DiCaprio's parents met while attending college and subsequently moved to. DiCaprio was named Leonardo because his pregnant mother was looking at a painting in the museum in , Italy, when he first kicked. His parents separated when he was a year old, and he lived mostly with his mother. The two lived in several Los Angeles neighborhoods, such as and his Los Feliz residence was later converted into a public library , while his mother worked several jobs. DiCaprio attended Seeds Elementary School now and a few blocks away, after attending the for four years. He dropped out of high school following his third year, eventually earning his general equivalency diploma. DiCaprio spent part of his childhood in Germany with his maternal grandparents, Wilhelm and Helene. He is conversant in German and Italian. He began his career by appearing in several commercials and educational films, following his older stepbrother Adam Farrar into television commercials, and landing an ad at age 14 for cars by , which he considered his first role. Throughout his teens he was seen in commercials for , , , and many more. In 1989, he played the role of Glen in two episodes of the. In 1990, started acting regularly on. This started with a role in the pilot of , and one episode of the soap opera , playing the young Mason Capwell. That same year, DiCaprio got a break on television when he was cast in. A series based on a successful comedy. His works that year earned him two nomination at the in Best Young Actor in a Daytime Series Santa Barbara and Best Young Actor Starring in a New Television Series Parenthood. DiCaprio was also a celebrity contestant on the children's game show. One of the stunts he performed on the show was going fishing in a small pool of water by catching the fish only with his teeth. Shortly after, he became a recurring cast member on the successful sitcom , playing Luke Brower, a homeless boy who is taken in by the Seaver family. DiCaprio was nominated for the for Best Young Actor Co-starring in a Television Series. In 1992, alongside , , , and , he played a supporting role in the first installment of the. It was nominated for the 1992 Grand Jury prize of Best Film at the and received a nomination at the. In 1992, DiCaprio was handpicked by out of 400 young actors to play the lead role in adapted from Tobias Wolff's memoir of the same name. He played opposite De Niro, who was acting as his stepfather, and as his mother. The film was directed by and released in 1993. In 1993, DiCaprio co-starred as the mentally handicapped brother of 's character in , a comic-tragic odyssey of a dysfunctional family. DiCaprio, who
