Education Qualification and Schooling/CollegeSchoolNot KnownCollege/ UniversityHunter College, New York, USA.Educational QualificationGraduation
Vin Diesel was born Mark Sinclair in Alameda County, California, along with his fraternal twin brother, Paul Vincent. He was raised by his astrologer/psychologist mother, Delora Sherleen (Sinclair), and adoptive father, Irving H. Vincent, an acting instructor and theatre manager, in an artists' housing project in New York City's Greenwich Village. He never knew his biological father. His mother is white (with English, German, Scottish, and Irish ancestry), and his adoptive father is African-American; referring to his biological father's background, Diesel has said that he himself is "definitely a person of colour".
His first break in acting happened by chance, when at the age of seven he and his friends broke into a theatre to vandalize it. A woman stopped them and offered them each a script and $20, on the condition that they would attend everyday after school. From there, Vin's fledgling career progressed from the New York repertory company run by his father, to the Off-Off-Broadway circuit. At age seventeen and already sporting a well-honed physique, he became a bouncer at some of New York's hippest clubs to earn himself some extra cash. It was at this time that he changed his name to Vin Diesel.
Following high school, Vin enrolled as an English major at Hunter College, but dropped out after three years to go to Hollywood to further his acting career. Being an experienced theatre actor did not make any impression in Hollywood and after a year of struggling to make his mark, he returned to New York. His mother then gave him a book called "Feature Films at used Car Prices" by Rick Schmidt. The book showed him that he could take control of his career and make his own movies. He wrote a short film based on his own experiences as an actor, called Multi-Facial (1995), which was shot in less than three days at a cost of $3,000. Multi-Facial (1995) was eventually accepted for the 1995 Cannes Film Festival where it got a tumultuous reception.
Afterwards, Vin returned to Los Angeles and raised almost $50,000 through telemarketing to fund the making of his first feature, Strays (1997). Six months after shooting, the film was accepted for the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, and although it received a good reception, it did not sell as well as hoped. Yet again Vin returned disappointed to New York only to receive a dream phone call. Steven Spielberg was impressed by Multi-Facial (1995) and wanted to meet Vin, leading him to be cast in Saving Private Ryan (1998). Multi-Facial (1995) earned Vin more work, when the director of The Iron Giant (1999) saw it and decided to cast Vin in the title role. From there, Vin's career steadily grew, with him securing his first lead role, as Richard B. Riddick in the sci-fi film Pitch Black (2000). The role has earned him a legion of devoted fans and the public recognition he deserves.
Born in 1974 in Los Angeles, California, Leonardo DiCaprio is an actor known for his edgy, unconventional roles. He started out in television before moving on to film, scoring an Oscar nomination for his role in What's Eating Gilbert Grape(1993). In 1997, DiCaprio starred in James Cameron's epic drama Titanic, which made him a huge star. The actor has also paired up with iconic director Martin Scorsese for several projects, including The Aviator (2004) and The Departed (2006). His more recent films include Inception (2010), Django Unchained (2012), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) and The Revenant (2015), winning his first Oscar for the latter.
Few actors in the world have had a career quite as diverse as Leonardo DiCaprio's. DiCaprio has gone from relatively humble beginnings, as a supporting cast member of the sitcom Growing Pains (1985) and low budget horror movies, such as Critters 3(1991), to a major teenage heartthrob in the 1990s, as the hunky lead actor in movies such as Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Titanic (1997), to then become a leading man in Hollywood blockbusters, made by internationally renowned directors such as Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan.
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio was born November 11, 1974 in Los Angeles, California, the only child of Irmelin DiCaprio (née Indenbirken) and former comic book artist George DiCaprio. His father is of Italian and German descent, and his mother, who is German-born, is of German and Russian ancestry. His middle name, "Wilhelm", was his maternal grandfather's first name. Leonardo's father had achieved minor status as an artist and distributor of cult comic book titles, and was even depicted in several issues of American Splendor, the cult semi-autobiographical comic book series by the late 'Harvey Pekar', a friend of George's. Leonardo's performance skills became obvious to his parents early on, and after signing him up with a talent agent who wanted Leonardo to perform under the stage name "Lenny Williams", DiCaprio began appearing on a number of television commercials and educational programs.
DiCaprio began attracting the attention of producers, who cast him in small roles in a number of television series, such as Roseanne (1988) and The New Lassie (1989), but it wasn't until 1991 that DiCaprio made his film debut in Critters 3 (1991), a low-budget horror movie. While Critters 3 (1991) did little to help showcase DiCaprio's acting abilities, it did help him develop his show-reel, and attract the attention of the people behind the hit sitcom Growing Pains (1985), in which Leonardo was cast in the "Cousin Oliver" role of a young homeless boy who moves in with the Seavers. While DiCaprio's stint on Growing Pains (1985) was very short, as the sitcom was axed the year after he joined, it helped bring DiCaprio into the public's attention and, after the sitcom ended, DiCaprio began auditioning for roles in which he would get the chance to prove his acting chops.
Leonardo took up a diverse range of roles in the early 1990s, including a mentally challenged youth in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), a young gunslinger in The Quick and the Dead (1995) and a drug addict in one of his most challenging roles to date, Jim Carroll in The Basketball Diaries (1995), a role which the late River Phoenix originally expressed interest in. While these diverse roles helped establish Leonardo's reputation as an actor, it wasn't until his role as Romeo Montague in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet (1996) that Leonardo became a household name, a true movie star. The following year, DiCaprio starred in another movie about doomed lovers, Titanic (1997), which went on to beat all box office records held before then, as, at the time, Titanic (1997) became the highest grossing movie of all time, and cemented DiCaprio's reputation as a teen heartthrob. Following his work on Titanic (1997), DiCaprio kept a low profile for a number of years, with roles in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) and the low-budget The Beach (2000) being some of his few notable roles during this period.
In 2002, he burst back into screens throughout the world with leading roles in Catch Me If You Can(2002) and Gangs of New York (2002), his first of many collaborations with director Martin Scorsese. With a current salary of $20 million a movie, DiCaprio is now one of the biggest movie stars in the world. However, he has not limited his professional career to just acting in movies, as DiCaprio is a committed environmentalist, who is actively involved in many environmental causes, and his commitment to this issue led to his involvement in The 11th Hour, a documentary movie about the state of the natural environment. As someone who has gone from small roles in television commercials to one of the most respected actors in the world, DiCaprio has had one of the most diverse careers in cinema. DiCaprio continued to defy conventions about the types of roles he would accept, and with his career now seeing him leading all-star casts in action thrillers such as The Departed (2006), Shutter Island (2010) and Christopher Nolan's Inception (2010), DiCaprio continues to wow audiences by refusing to conform to any cliché about actors.
DiCaprio is passionate about environmental and humanitarian causes, having donated $1,000,000 to earthquake relief efforts in 2010, the same year he contributed $1,000,000 to the Wildlife Conservation Society.
The Hollywood Hills compound
Purchase date: 1994 Price: $4 million The scoop: This Oriole Way compound is actually two side-by-side properties, one of which DiCaprio purchased from pop legend Madonna in the ’90s for $2 million. High in the Hollywood Hills, this property has been fully renovated by the star, who put in a basketball court at one point. Since then, it's been rented out to various actor friends, including, apparently, Tobey Maguire.
The compound on Oriole Way
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The 'Billionaire's Beach' bungalow
Purchase date: 1998 Price: $1,775,000 The scoop: This adorable 1950s bungalow is nestled right next to California's Carbon Beach, sometimes called "Billionaire's Beach," thanks to its rich and fabulous inhabitants. The house itself is surprisingly modest: three bedrooms and two bathrooms within 1,765 square feet of living space. The deck has a hot tub and looks onto the Pacific, and the interior is tastefully updated.
DiCaprio listed the property in September 2016 for $10.95 million, then trimmed a million off the price that December. Since then, it's been on and off the rental market. At 20 years together, it's one of DiCaprio's longest relationships. It would almost be sad to see them parted.
Carbon Beach bungalow
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An island near Belize
Purchase date: 2005 Price: $1.75 million The scoop: Yes, DiCaprio owns an entire island. Blackadore Caye, which is off the coast of Belize, is being developed as a swanky eco-resort set to open in 2018. DiCaprio and his development partner, Paul Scialla, are trying to do more than just create a luxury getaway spot. They want to help save the island and its ecosystem.
"We don’t want to just do less harm or even have zero impact, but to actually help heal the island, to make it better than before," Scialla told the New York Times. It remains to be seen if infinity pools and habitat preservation can peacefully coexist.
Blackadore Caye, a private island and soon to be ecotourism spot
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The Battery Park twofer
Purchase date: 2008 and March 2014 Price: $3.67 million and $8 million The scoop: This New York City high-rise is home to an apartment so nice, DiCaprio bought it twice! Known as "Riverhouse, One Rockefeller Park," 2 River Terrace in Battery Park is an eco-friendly building bursting with amenities, including filtered water, double-filtered air, a 50-foot lap pool, 24/7 concierge service, yoga studio, and billiard room. The high-rise has been home to celebs such as as Tyra Banks, Oliver Stone, and Cobie Smulders.
DiCaprio purchased the first apartment in the condo building in 2008, then bought the unit next door in 2014. The newest addition has 2,327 square feet of space, including a 1,035-square-foot terrace overlooking the Hudson. Hey, this guy likes to look at water.
2 River Terrace, where DiCaprio owns two apartments
realtor.com
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Palm Springs spread
Purchase date: March 2014 Price: $5.2 million The scoop: Designed by architect Donald Wexler and once owned by big-band singer Dinah Shore, this 7,022-square-foot Palm Springs, CA, pad oozes old Hollywood charm. Built in 1964, the six-bedroom, 7.5-bathroom compound has a main house, guesthouse, and casita.
The thoroughly Mid-Century Modern main house has a sunken bar in the living room, floor-to-ceiling windows, and wood-paneled ceilings. The surrounding estate boasts a gorgeous pool, gym, tennis courts, and views of the mountains and the desert. It's now a vacation rental, so if you want to spend the night in DiCaprio's house, get your $3,750 ready and book away.
Mid-Century Modern with oodles of Hollywood charm
realtor.com
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The Malibu mini
Purchase date: January 2017 Price: $23 million The scoop: Yes, DiCaprio owns small houses, too! This 610-square-foot shack clinging to a cliff on Paradise Cove is presumably going to be razed to build an abode more worthy of an Oscar winner. Hey, when you're a real estate mogul with DiCaprio's deep pockets, a $23 million teardown makes sense if it's sitting on 1.76 acres of rare Malibu beachfront.
The place has a Hollywood pedigree: Before DiCaprio purchased it from billionaire Vinnie Viola, it waspreviously owned by director Ridley Scott. It's tucked in between the sprawling homes of Mark Burnett and Courteney Cox.
