Jayne - The Incredible Hunks Boxed Set: Life and Careers of the Sexiest Actors in the World

TheIncredible Hunks Boxed Set

Life and Careers of the Sexiest Actors in the World

Jessica Jayne

Platinum Publishing

Contents

Leonardo DiCaprio

From Homeless Kid to King of the World

Jessica Jayne

Platinum Publishing

Table of Contents

Thefirst thing that comes to mind when you hear the name Leonardo DiCaprio isthat of a young handsome man in the 1997 blockbuster Titanic. It was themovie that brought him out of obscurity and made him an overnight sensation.From then on, Leonardo was on his way to stardom.

WhenLeonardo became famous after starring in Titanic, people becameinterested in every single detail about his life. People were charmed by hispretty boy looks and his serious approach to his craft. For a moment it mayseem like a stroke of luck that he got the part in Titanic. It was, butLeonardo had been acting since he was a child. His parents encouraged his lovefor acting, and he knew that it was what he was going to pursue throughout hislife.

Today,Leonardo has made a reputation of himself as a serious, bankable actor who cantake any role. He had numerous films under his belt (with many to come) and hadwon and received nominations for his performances in some of these movies. Notonly that, Leonardo has also made good use of his popularity by championingcauses dear to his heart.

Unlikemany actors, Leonardo isnt about to fade under the radar. He has movies in theworks that will be released in 2012 or 2o13, providing him an opportunity towork with directors of such caliber such as Quentin Tarantino and MartinScorsese. Leonardo has also tried his hands in producing.

Sowho is Leonardo DiCaprio really? And what did he go through before he achievedsuch fame that some actors spent half of their lives before achieving?

Leonardosfull name is Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio, born on November 11, 1974 in LosAngeles, California, in the middle of a rough and tumble artist community. Ifhis second name sounds German, thats because it is. He got his middle namefrom his maternal grandfather, a mineworker in Germanys coal-and-steel Ruhrregion.

Leonardois of German, Italian and Russian descent. His father, George DiCaprio, is afourth-generation American of half-Italian and half-German descent. He is an undergroundcomic artist as well as producer/distributor of comic books. Leonardos mother,Irmelin (nee Indenbirken) a legal secretary who would become Leonardosmanager was born in Germany but moved from Oer-Erkenschwick in the Ruhr,Germany, to the US during the 1950s with her parents. Her mother, HeleneIndenbirken, was originally from Russia.

When Leonardo was a baby

Leonardosparents met in a New York college and moved to Los Angeles, where Leonardo wasborn. They were on their second honeymoon in Italy in celebration of Irmelinspregnancy in the summer of 1974. Leonardo had been told of that fateful momenttime and again. My mom felt me kicking while they were looking at a Leonardoda Vinci painting in the Uffizi gallery in Florence and they took it as amessage.

Irmelinjust knew she must name her baby, if it was a boy, after the famous painter.

Thecouple had traveled for so long that they decided to settle down before theirsons birth. They settled in Los Angeles, in the poverty-stricken EastHollywood suburb where Leonardo would grow up. Here he would experience thebest and worst of Hollywood, having lived among drug addicts in an area ofTinseltown he called Scumsville.

Unfortunately, George and Irmelinseparated when Leonardo was one, but both were committed to raising him. ThoughLeonardo spent most of his life with his mother, his father was also an activeperson in his upbringing. After the separation, Leonardo and his mother livedin several Los Angeles neighborhoods, such as Echo Park, and at 1874 HillhurstAvenue, Los Feliz district, while Irmelin worked several jobs to support them.

Leonardo and his mother, Irmelin; hisparents divorced when he was just one year old

Leonardos childhood wasnt exactlyideal. He recalled living at Hollywood and Western, a drug-dealer andprostitute corner. He said, I got beat up a lot. I saw people have sex in thealleys. I remember I was five years old, and this guy with a trench coat,needles and crack cornered me. Early on, seeing the devastation on my block,seeing heroin addicts, made me think twice about ever getting involved indrugs. Its evil. Once you take that step and experiment, drugs can take overyour life. You are not yourself anymore. Thats something I never wanted. Ididnt have a lot of friends growing up. It was kind of just me and my parents.But because of them, the neighborhood did not have a bad effect on me. My dadintroduced me to artists, and every few months wed go to some hippie doo-dahparade as Mudmen in our underwear, carrying sticks and covered in mud. Mymother did everything to get me into the best schools she could find.

Leonardos parents were hippies, but notthe pot-smoking wasters. It was them who encouraged their son to pursue hisdreams, though he had a hard time finding things to do that they had notalready done. TV was one. His father took him to try out for the childrenseducational show, Romper Room, Leonardos favorite show. Georgerecalled, All I remember is this big soft furry Bee that Leonardo kind of wentafter and the poor camera man.

Even at a young age, Leonardo was drawnto the lens. As alarmed producers looked on in a mixture of awe and fear,little Leo began whirling on stage. He was thanked for coming, and was thenfired for what the network called uncontrollable behavior.

His Romper Room days

Though he was unruly at times, Leonardowas a bright kid. He attended Seeds Elementary Scho0l at UCLA, an hour awayfrom the Echo Park area where he lived. Irmelin was dedicated to her son thatshed spend four hours a day driving her son to and fro. Leonardo then moved tothe Los Angeles Centre for Enriched Studies, a school for gifted children whichhe attended for four years. He then attended John Marshall High School in theLos Feliz area of Los Angeles.

Leonardo was finding it hard to focus onhis studies. He recalled. I cheated a lot, because I just couldnt sit and dohomework. I usually sat next to someone extremely smart. And for that he wascruelly known as Leonardo Retardo. He was always mistaken as a girl because ofhis long blond hair.

He also loved to mimic people. He was injunior high when he gave his teachers a scare when he impersonated the murdererCharles Manson.

Instead of focusing on his academics, hebecame known for his antics such as breakdancing for his classmates atlunchtime, and playing practical jokes on the neighbors. He wasnt even keen inmatters of the heart. Once, he took out a girl named Cecilia Garcia to watchthe romantic When Harry Met Sally, kissed her and was dumped.

Though his growing up years may not beideal, he said that his parents made sure he didnt suffer from theirseparation.