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A young superstar whose talent matches his fame, Leonardo DiCaprio was born Nov. 11, 1974, in Hollywood. As a child, he appeared in commercials and educational films, followed by the sitcoms "Parenthood" and "Growing Pains."

An unnoticed film debut in Critters 3 was soon followed by his attention-grabbing performance as Robert De Niro's abused stepson in This Boy's Life (1993). Later that year, he was remarkable as Johnny Depp's mentally challenged brother in What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, earning his first Oscar nod.

More impressive work led to his fortunate casting as Jack Dawson in the mega-hit Titanic, making him a movie idol adored by millions of fans worldwide. He's been careful in his choice of roles since then with two simultaneous successes in 2002: Gangs of New York and Catch Me If You Can. A couple more Oscar nods came with his performances in The Aviator and Blood Diamond.