The young actor was born on November 11, 1974, in Los Angeles, California. DiCaprio was named Leonardo after Leonardo da Vinci, perhaps forecasting that he would also be a revolutionary in his own field of work. The actor said that he originally wanted to be either a marine biologist or a child actor, and it’s amazing to see that he sort of went for both with his incredible environmental activism efforts. He had a hard time finding an agent at first, and one agent even suggested that he should change his name to Lenny Williams, although we’re happy he didn’t.
After more than a year and a half of over 100 failed auditions, he finally managed to find his first successful acting role in the 1990’s TV show “The Outsiders.” DiCaprio got his big break when he starred in “Parenthood” that same year in, which got him two nominations for Best Young Actor in a Daytime Series for the show, “Santa Barbara” and Best Young Actor Starring in a New Television Series for “Parenthood.” From there on, he turned into an obvious contender for many future films and paved his career to the iconic success it is today.
Unique Acting Roles
One of the most incredible things about Leonardo DiCaprio that makes him so popular as an actor is that he is never afraid to pursue a role that will demand something new from him. In fact, the actor actively looks for interesting roles that will stretch his acting abilities, as evidenced by his versatile filmography.
This is especially noticeable in an age where the majority of Hollywood films seem like boring CGI reboots. DiCaprio definitely picks to be some of the best films out there and even turns a weak story into something truly gripping.
Leo the Environmental Activist
Leonardo DiCaprio is known for his vast contributions to helping prevent climate change. These include many speaking events and even films he produced for that very same goal. In 2007, Dicaprio released The 11th Hour, a documentary film about the state of the earth's climate, which he created, produced, co-wrote, and narrated. The actor also helped create Greensburg, a TV show about the Planet Green network which shows efforts to rebuild the town of Greensburg, Kansas using sustainable energy after the May 2007 tornado.
In 2013, DiCaprio told the media that he was taking a break from acting to focus on flying around the world and "doing good for the environment." He was also the executive producer of "Cowspiracy," a controversial documentary that shows the impacts of animal agriculture on earth's climate. The actor is still very much active in his environmental efforts and often speaks at the United Nations and the rest of the world as the UN's representative on climate change.
Let’s Focus on Women
To be honest, if there’s one thing that both the fans and the media are truly obsessed with when they talk about Leonardo DiCaprio, it's his long list of romantic conquests and his never-ending chain of dates and girlfriends.
He might be an incredible actor and an inspiring environmentalist, but nothing comes close in terms of pure entertainment value than his myriad of partners. Did you know that out of the hundreds of women that the 45-year-old actor has dated, almost none of them have been over 25? He seems to have a very specific taste in women, and that’s one of the things we’ll be exploring in this list.
Claire Danes
Most of you might know Claire Danes as Yvaine, the fallen star from the film Stardust. She's a three-time Emmy Awards winner and has also won four Golden Globe Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Sure, today she is married with two kids to English actor Hugh Dancy, but back in the day — she had a great thing going with the young Leonardo DiCaprio. The actress was still just a teenager at the time they were dating, and rumors began to pile up while the two were on set together. There was a lot of controversy around the fact that Leo, who was 22 at the time, was dating Claire, as she was just 16. The two met while filming "Romeo + Juliet," and although Danes denies that the two were romantic, there is a lot of evidence to the contrary.
The two can be seen here at a red carpet event for "Romeo + Juliet," back when the young Leo still sported his classic boyish hairdo and back when jacket collars were still fashionable. Danes was also quite the looker and sported the then-popular fan hairstyle, which was all the rage at the time.