Born in Hollywood, California on November 11, 1974 of German and Italian descent, DiCaprio's first brush with fame came when as a child he was kicked off the set of Romper Room for unruly behavior.
By 15 the fledgling actor already had his first agent, beginning a classic Hollywood battle against changing his style of clothes, his haircut and his name - to Lenny Williams. DiCaprio forged ahead in his own style and under his own name, eventually winning a notable recurring role on TV's Growing Pains.
His breakthrough film performance in This Boy's Life in 1993 won raves, as did his role a year later playing Johnny Depp's mentally retarded younger brother in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, garnering the 19 year-old an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
More notable performances followed, with the actor winning international recognition in William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet in 1996 and in the mega-hit, Titanic the following year.
He again dominated the screen in 2002 with starring roles in both The Gangs of New York opposite Cameron Diaz and in Stephen Speilberg's Catch Me If You Can, playing the youngest criminal to ever land on the F.B.I.'s 10-most-wanted list.
The actor's current project earned lots of Oscar buzz in 2005, along with a Golden Globe award to DiCaprio himself for Best Actor for his starring role as eccentric millionaire Howard Hughes in The Aviator (movie trailer) directed by Martin Scorcese.
In 2006, DiCaprio will take top billing in another Scorcese film, The Departed, alongside an all-star cast including Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg.
