Leonardo DiCaprio was born in 1974 in Los Angeles. He showed an early interest in acting and began getting small roles in television and films as a teenager. His breakthrough role was in 1993's What's Eating Gilbert Grape, for which he received critical acclaim and award nominations. He gained widespread fame and recognition for his leading role in the blockbuster Titanic in 1997. DiCaprio has since starred in numerous major films, with performances in The Aviator and Catch Me If You Can earning him further critical praise and award nominations.

1. Leonardo DiCaprio

2. Leonardo DiCaprio was born on November 11, 1974 in Los Angeles, California to Irmalin and George DiCaprio. He was named after Leonardo DaVinci. His parents divorced when he was one year old and has one stepbrother. He went to school at the Center for Enriched Studies and John Marshall High School in Los Angeles.

3. He always wanted to be an actor and at the age of fourteen began doing commercials. His agent also got him small parts on various TV shows such as Parenthood (nominated for the Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor Starring in a New Television Series) and Santa Barbara (nominated for the Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor in a Daytime Series). He even had a small role in his movie debut, appearing in Critters III . However, in 1991, he finally received a steady role as a troubled teenage on the once popular television show Growing Pains where he was nominated for the Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor Co-starring in a Television Series.

4. He continued to receive other roles, such as Toby in the movie This Boy’s Life. However, his big break came in 1993 as Arnie Grape in Who’s Eating Gilbert Grape , in which he won the NBR Award for Best Supporting Actor and the CFCA Award for Most Promising Actor. He was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture and an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In 1993, he also won the LAFCAA New Generation Award.

5. He and the cast of Marvin’s Room was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in 1996. However, in 1996, he gave a critically acclaimed appearance as Romeo in the movie Romeo and Juliet where he won the BIFF Silver Berlin Bear for Best Actor and the Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor – Romance. He was also nominated for MTV’s Movie Awards for Best On-Screen Duo w/ Claire Danes, Best Male Performance, and Favorite Actor – Romance.

6. His most memorable role of the 1990’s was as artist Jack Dawson on a sinking ship in the movie Titanic . Awards won for this role include MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance and Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor – Drama. He was also nominated for several awards, including: Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast, MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo w/ Kate Winslet, MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss w/ Kate Winslet, Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama and the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama. The movie itself won many awards (including 11 Oscars) and nominations, as well as being a box office success.

8. After Titanic , Leonardo followed up with roles in several other fairly successful movies including Catch Me if You Can in which he was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance and the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama. He was in another blockbuster movie in 2002, the Gangs of New York which was very successful, however, he was only nominated for one major award, the MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss w/ Cameron Diaz, which is not a bad consolation prize.

9. In 2004, he saw his career soar to even greater heights with the release of The Aviator , based on the life of Howard Hughes. He has already won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama and is nominated for many other similar awards. He has also been awarded the Hollywood Film Festival Actor of the Year in 2004.

10. While in New York to film a movie in June 2005 Leonardo attended a party at a friends home. While at the party, a woman smashed a beer bottle across his face causing him to go to the hospital and receive stitches. It is unknown why the woman did this or if DiCaprio is going to press charges. Looking at all the different roles Leo has portrayed over the years shows his great capability of playing many different kinds of roles and his natural acting skills. He knows how to bring emotion and reality to his roles, and has touched the hearts of millions of people all over the world.