Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer known for his work in biographical and period films. Born on November 11, 1974, in Los Angeles, California, his films as a leading actor have grossed $7 billion worldwide. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, an Actor Award, a BAFTA Award, an Emmy Award, a Silver Bear, and three Golden Globes. He has also been placed eight times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actors.

DiCaprio is the only child of Irmelin Indenbirken, a legal secretary from Germany, and George DiCaprio, an American underground comix artist and distributor. He was named after Leonardo da Vinci and raised Catholic. Following his parents' separation when he was a year old, they lived in twin cottages in Echo Park, Los Angeles. DiCaprio attended the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies, Seeds Elementary School, and John Marshall High School before dropping out to pursue acting, later earning a general equivalency diploma.

DiCaprio began his career in the late 1980s appearing in television commercials for brands including Matchbox cars, Kraft Singles, Bubble Yum, and Apple Jacks. By the early 1990s, he transitioned to television roles, appearing in the pilot of The Outsiders, the soap opera Santa Barbara, and the series Parenthood. In 1991, he made his feature film debut in the horror sequel Critters 3 and joined the sitcom Growing Pains as a recurring cast member playing Luke Brower.

His film breakthrough came in 1992 when he was chosen to co-star alongside Robert De Niro in This Boy's Life (1993). DiCaprio earned critical praise and his first Academy Award nomination for playing a developmentally disabled boy in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993). During the mid-1990s, he starred in diverse films including the Western The Quick and the Dead, the biopic The Basketball Diaries, the drama Total Eclipse, Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet—which won him a Silver Bear for Best Actor—and the family drama Marvin's Room.

In 1997, DiCaprio achieved global stardom starring opposite Kate Winslet in James Cameron's romantic drama Titanic, which became the highest-grossing film in the world at the time. To broaden his range beyond romantic roles, he starred in crime dramas such as Catch Me If You Can and Gangs of New York in 2002, beginning his frequent collaborations with director Martin Scorsese. He continued to receive acclaim for performances in The Aviator, Blood Diamond, The Departed, Revolutionary Road, Inception, Django Unchained, and The Wolf of Wall Street.

DiCaprio won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the survival drama The Revenant (2015). His subsequent work includes Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), and One Battle After Another (2025). Beyond acting, he is the founder of Appian Way Productions and the environmental nonprofit Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. A United Nations Messenger of Peace, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2005 and was included in Time magazine's 100 most influential people in 2016.