User:Hollywoodwow/sandbox

Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (/dɨˈkæpri.oʊ/; born November 11, 1974)[1] is an American actor and film producer. He has been nominated for five Academy Awards and ten Golden Globe Awards. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama for The Aviator (2004) and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). He has also been nominated by the Screen Actors Guild, Satellite Awards, and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.[2] DiCaprio started his career by appearing in television commercials prior to landing recurring roles in TV series such as the soap opera Santa Barbara and the sitcom Growing Pains in the early 1990s. He made his film debut in the comedic sci-fi horror film Critters 3 (1991) and received first notable critical praise for his performance in This Boy's Life (1993). DiCaprio obtained recognition for his subsequent work in supporting roles in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) and Marvin's Room (1996), as well as leading roles in The Basketball Diaries (1995) and Romeo + Juliet (1996), before achieving international fame in James Cameron's Titanic (1997). Since the 2000s, DiCaprio has been nominated for awards for his work in such films as Catch Me If You Can (2002), Gangs of New York (2002), The Aviator (2004), Blood Diamond (2006), The Departed (2006), Revolutionary Road (2008), Django Unchained (2012) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). His films Shutter Island (2010) and Inception (2010) rank among the biggest commercial successes of his career.[3] DiCaprio owns a production company named Appian Way Productions, whose productions include the films Gardener of Eden (2007) and Orphan (2009). A committed environmentalist, DiCaprio has received praise from environmental groups for his activism.

Early Life and Family
DiCaprio, an only child, was born in Los Angeles, California. His mother, Irmelin (née Indenbirken), is a former legal secretary; born in Germany, she moved with her family from Oer-Erkenschwick in the Ruhr to the U.S. during the 1950s. His father, George DiCaprio, is an underground comic artist and producer and distributor of comic books.[5] DiCaprio's father is of half Italian (from the Naples area) and half German (from Bavaria) descent.[1][6][7] DiCaprio's maternal grandfather, Wilhelm Indenbirken, was German.[8] His maternal grandmother, Helene Indenbirken (1915–2008),[9] a German citizen, was born as Yelena Smirnova in Russia.[10][11] DiCaprio's parents met while attending college and subsequently moved to Los Angeles.[1] He was named Leonardo because his pregnant mother was looking at a Leonardo da Vinci painting in a museum in Italy when DiCaprio first kicked.[12] His parents divorced when he was a year old and he lived mostly with his mother. The two lived in several Los Angeles neighborhoods, such as Echo Park, and at 1874 Hillhurst Avenue, Los Feliz district (which was later converted into a local public library), while his mother worked several jobs to support them.[1] He attended Seeds Elementary School and graduated from John Marshall High School a few blocks away, after attending the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies for four years.[13] DiCaprio spent part of his childhood in Germany with his maternal grandparents, Wilhelm and Helene. He speaks German fluently. DiCaprios closest family lives in L.A but he also has relatives in Germany and Italy. Leonardo DiCaprio is an only child, but he is close to his five younger cousins that are often seen with him; Maxima, Fabiano, Matteo, Leopoldo and Anna that also live in Los Angeles.