Leonardo DiCaprio rocketed to international fame with his portrayal of Jack Dawson in the epic “Titanic.” The actor phenom is a committed environmentalist and is known for delivering amazing performances by immersing himself into his characters. Here are a few important things to know about the Academy Award winning actor:

DiCaprio is an actor and producer who is known for his diverse range of roles and for his portrayal of unconventional, complex, and edgy characters. He was born Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio, on November 11, 1974, in Los Angeles, California, as the only child of Irmelin, a legal secretary and George DiCaprio, an underground comix writer. He is of half-Italian-German ancestry He was named after Leonardo da Vinci, the great Italian polymath, and spent his childhood with his mother in the poor neighborhoods of Los Angeles, described as ‘Ghettos of Hollywood.’ His parents separated when he was a year old with his father agreeing to live next door. DiCaprio attended Seeds Elementary School and John Marshall High School before joining the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies for his senior year. However, he dropped to earn his general equivalency diploma. He made his acting debut as a five-year old in the long running T.V. Series ‘Romper Room and Friends,’ in its 27th episode, before being dropped for his disruptive behavior. He followed his stepbrother Adam Farrar into TV commercials, landing an ad for ‘Matchbox Car’ at 14, which led to being cast in other ads such as ‘Kraft Foods,’ ‘Bubble Yum,’ and ‘Apple Jacks.’ In 1990, he made his television series debut in ‘The New Lassie,’ as Glen in two episodes, and he began to establish himself with a role in ‘The Outsiders,’ ‘Santa Barbara,’ and ‘Roseanne,’ as Darlene’s classmate. His big break came in the 12 episode sitcom series ‘Parenthood,’ as Garry Buckman. His work that year earned him two nominations in the 2012 Young Artist Awards, for ‘Best Young Actor Starring in a New Television Series,’ for Parenthood and ‘Best Young Actor in a Daytime Series,’ for Santa Barbara. DiCaprio made his feature film debut with the 1991 science fiction comedy horror film ‘Critters 3,’ as young Josh. On hindsight he prefers not to remember this role, which according to him, is ‘possibly one of the worst films of all time and hope it doesn’t happen again.’ His brief cameo as a student in the 1992 film ‘Poison Ivy’ impressed Robert De Niro. De Niro handpicked him among 400 young actors to star opposite him in the 1993 biographical film ‘This Boy’s Life.’ Ironically Poison Ivy is his only film where he did not have a speaking role. He earned his first Oscar nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category, for his portrayal of Arnie Grape, the developmentally disabled brother in the 1993 film ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.’ To get into the character, he spent few days at the mentally disabled home for teens and also did not bathe, as the character Arnie resisted water. In 1995, he was cast as Jim Carroll, a drug addict, in one of his most challenging roles for ‘The Basketball Diaries.’ To prepare for the role, DiCaprio had the assistance of a drug consultant and had hung out in Greenwich Village, practicing poetry reading with Carroll. At the 47th Berlin International Film Festival in 1997, DiCaprio, won the ‘Silver Bear for Best Actor Award,’ for the film ‘Romeo + Juliet.’ His version of Romeo’s speech at Juliet’s bier was so good that it moved Claire Danes to tears, nearly ruining the scene. The 1997 film ‘Titanic,’ by James Cameron, transformed DiCaprio into a superstar adored by women everywhere, a phenomenon that came to be known as ‘Leo Mania.’ Though the film ‘Titanic’ won 11 Academy Awards, it was hard for fans to fathom that DiCaprio was not even nominated for any. More than 200 of his fans E-mailed and phoned the Academy’s Los Angeles headquarters demanding nomination. The success of Titanic made DiCaprio so popular around the world that John Hiscock of ‘The Daily Telegraph’ compared his popularity to that of ‘The Beatles’ in the 1960s. The Titanic success skyrocketed DiCaprio’s salary to $20 million, when he signed Danny Boyle’s film ‘The Beach,’ in 2000. The film received negative reviews with DiCaprio being nominated for the ‘Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor.’ In 1995, DiCaprio appeared in a black and white indie film ‘Don’s Plum,’ directed by an aspiring director, R.D. Robb, for a fee of $575 per day. When Robb planned to expand it to a feature film, DiCaprio filed a law suit and had it banned in USA & Canada, but could not stop it from streaming on a free site. In 2002, under Steven Spielberg’s direction, DiCaprio earned his third Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of a con man in the biographical crime film ‘Catch Me if You Can.’ His work was also appreciated by the real Frank Abagnale, Jr., whose story is depicted in the movie. In 2004, DiCaprio founded the production company ‘Appian Way Productions,’ in West Hollywood, California. The company has produced 17 feature films, seven documentaries, and three television shows. DiCaprio depicting the life of an aviation pioneer Howard Hughes in the 2004 biographical drama ‘The Aviator,’ winning the Golden Globe Best Actor Award and receiving his first Oscar nomination in the Best Actor category. This was the first feature film of his production company. DiCaprio has won 54 awards from 163 nominations and was named runner-up for 4 of those. He has been nominated for six Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards, and nine Screen Actors Guild Awards apart from three Golden Globe Awards from eleven nominations. He is considered as one of the most talented actors of his generation who is heavily committed to each role he plays. According to Stacey Wilson of New York magazine, DiCaprio, unlike most of his contemporaries, has not starred in a failed film in the past ten years. For the science-fiction film ‘Inception,’ DiCaprio agreed to a pay cut from his normal $20 million fee in favor of splitting first-dollar gross points. The risk paid off, as he earned his highest pay of $50 million from the film. DiCaprio is agnostic, rarely giving interviews, and is reluctant to discuss his private life. He was romantically involved with Brazilian model, Gisele Bundchen, and Israeli model, Bar Refaeli, before dating German fashion model, Toni Garrn. In 2009, he bought an island, Blackadore Caye eco-island resort, off mainland Belize in 2020. He also owns a Dinah Shore residence designed by Donald Wexler, apart from a home in Los Angeles and Battery Park City. DiCaprio, along with his mother, donated $35,000 for a ‘Leonardo DiCaprio Computer Center,’ at the Los Feliz branch of Los Angeles Public Library in 1998. His other philanthropic activities includes $1 million to relief work efforts in Haiti, in 2010 and $61,000 to support Gay Rights at Annual GLAAD media awards. In 2014, he was appointed as a United Nations representative on climate change and addressed the UN Climate Summit, prior to the signing of Paris Climate Change Agreement. His foundation awarded $6 million to protect wildlife and for the rights of Native Americans. In 2010, DiCaprio was nominated for the ‘VH1 Do Something Award,’ honoring people who contribute to environmental work. He chaired the national Earth Day celebration in 2000. He owns an environmental friendly electric hybrid vehicle and his home is powered by solar panels. DiCaprio won his first ‘Academy Award for Best Actor,’ for his portrayal of fur trapper ‘Hugh Glass’ in the 2015 film ‘The Revenant.’ He described his experience as one of his most difficult films in which he learned to shoot a musket, build a fire, speak two Native American languages, and use ancient healing techniques. Leonardo DiCaprio Net Worth: $245 Million