Leonardo DiCaprio's 52nd Birthday Countdown

Leonardo DiCaprio Timeline

About Leonardo DiCaprio

From Titanic to The Departed, Inception and The Revenant, DiCaprio has spent three decades as Hollywood's most bankable serious actor — finally collecting his Academy Award in 2016 — while funding environmental causes through his foundation.

The kid who screamed at Robert De Niro

Auditioning for This Boy's Life against hundreds of hopefuls, a teenage DiCaprio leapt up mid-scene and screamed "No, it's not empty!" in Robert De Niro's face. De Niro burst out laughing, and DiCaprio walked out certain he had blown it. Instead, De Niro told the filmmakers there was something interesting in that kid, and later tipped off Martin Scorsese. By 19 DiCaprio had an Oscar nomination for What's Eating Gilbert Grape; by 22 he was boarding the Titanic.

A billion dollars, then a bear

Titanic became the first film in history to gross $1 billion worldwide, holding the all-time box office crown for over a decade and making DiCaprio the most famous actor on Earth. The Oscar itself took longer. It finally came in 2016 for The Revenant, a shoot so brutal he ate raw bison liver and slept inside animal carcasses, and the ovation when his name was read felt like Hollywood exhaling on his behalf.

One hundred million dollars for a wilder world

DiCaprio started his environmental foundation in 1998, at just 24, and over two decades it granted more than $100 million to over 200 projects across 46 countries, from ocean conservation to indigenous rights. In 2021 that work merged into Re:wild, the conservation group he co-founded, which joined a record $5 billion pledge to protect nature. The United Nations named him a Messenger of Peace for climate in 2014.

Quick facts

• Born November 11, 1974, in Los Angeles, California
• Won the Best Actor Oscar for The Revenant (2016)
• Titanic (1997) was the first film ever to gross $1 billion worldwide
• Earned his first Oscar nomination at 19 for What's Eating Gilbert Grape
• His foundation granted over $100 million to environmental projects before merging into Re:wild
• Named a United Nations Messenger of Peace for climate in 2014

Leonardo DiCaprio's biggest films