Leonardo DiCaprio has a successful acting career lasting for over twenty years and on last Sunday it was crowned with a well deserved Oscar statue; maybe he already deserved it in the past for his remarkable roles, but that is not the issue of this post. There is a saying that behind every successful man there’s a successful woman, and this is a story about the woman who’s standing behind DiCaprio and supporting him from the very beginning – his mom.
Today when his name is said it’s always being followed by a sense of glamour, extravagant life, and beautiful Victoria Secret’s models, but things were not always that bright for this talented actor. He grew up in not so charming part of LA, in a rough neighborhood near Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue, next to Le Sex Shoppe and The Waterbed Hotel.
“I grew up very poor and I got to see the other side of the spectrum. I try to tell my godson, who lives close to that area, what it was like, how there used to be a major prostitution ring on my street corner, crime and violence everywhere … And I’m not sure he believes me,” said DiCaprio in an interview for the L.A. Time’s Envelope.
His home was untypical, too. He was an only child to his father George DiCaprio, a comic book artist, and his mother Irmelin, a legal secretary born in Germany who got divorced when he was a toddler, but decided to raise him together with his father by living in bungalows with shared garden. Even though he was raised by both parents, recently, at BAFTA ceremony, he expressed devotion to his mother during the speech of the Best Actor:
“Lastly, there’s one person I have to thank. I would not be standing up here if it wasn’t for this person. I didn’t grow up in a life of privilege. I grew up in a very rough neighborhood in east Los Angeles.
This woman drove me three hours a day to a different school to show me a different opportunity. It’s her birthday today. Mom, happy birthday. I love you very much.”
In an interview for the Times, DiCaprio recalled public shool days, and how he turned to his mother to help him start an acting career:
“When I went back to the public school system it was like — boom — this is reality. I got beat up the day I arrived because I had the attitude of everyone living harmoniously with one another. That was the motivational thing that happened to me in my life. I was 15, and I said to my mom, ‘I want to be an actor. Please take me to auditions.’ Because I had to get out of that public school system.”
Soon, Irmelin applied for a scholarship for her son at a private Montessori-style school at UCLA, drove him to school and took him to auditions while juggling her secretarial jobs. His first big break came in a 1993 film “This Boy’s Life.” His career launched from there and next was a remarkable role in “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape”, later that year and eventually “Romeo + Juliet” in 1996 and “Titanic” the year after. The rest is Hollywood history leading to this year’s Oscar for the role in “The Revenant”.
Today, this A-list Hollywood celebrity often takes his mom as a “plus one” to glamorous events. She enjoys spending such evenings with her son who never forgets how hard was her life in order to give him a chance for success.
Source: nextshark
