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1 of 22Leonardo DiCaprio in 1975.Peter Fleming—Retna Ltd./Corbis -
2 of 22Leonardo DiCaprio with his mother, Irmelin, in Los Angeles in 1975.Peter Fleming—Retna Ltd./Corbis -
3 of 22Leonardo DiCaprio with his mother, Irmelin, and father, George, in Los Angeles in 1976.Peter Fleming—Retna Ltd./Corbis -
4 of 22From left: Leonardo DiCaprio and his stepbrother, Adam Ferrer, in Los Angeles in 1978.Gianfranco Gasparro—Getty Images -
5 of 22Leonardo DiCaprio in 1989.Darlene Hammond—Getty Images -
6 of 22Leonardo DiCaprio in Los Angeles in Aug. 1990.Janet Macoska—Retna Ltd./Corbis -
7 of 22Leonardo DiCaprio in a promotional still for Parenthood, c. 1990.Theo Westenberger—Getty Images -
8 of 22From left: Max Elliott Slade, as Kevin Buckman, and Leonardo DiCaprio, as Garry Buckman, in a promotional still for Parenthood, c. 1990.Gary Null—Getty Images -
9 of 22From left: Leonardo DiCaprio, as Luke Brower, and Kirk Cameron, as Mike Seaver, in Growing Pains in 1991.ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images -
10 of 22Leonardo DiCaprio, c. 1991.Fotos International/Getty Images -
11 of 22Leonardo DiCaprio during the 1992 MTV Rock n Jock Basketball in Irvine, Calif. on Sept. 19, 1992.Jeff Kravitz—Getty Images -
12 of 22Leonardo DiCaprio during the 1992 MTV Rock n Jock Basketball in Irvine, Calif. on Sept. 19, 1992.Jeff Kravitz—Getty Images -
13 of 22Leonardo DiCaprio, c. 1992.Darlene Hammond—Getty Images -
14 of 22Leonardo DiCaprio at the premiere of Benny & Joon in Los Angeles on March 25, 1993.Barry King—Getty Images -
15 of 22Leonardo DiCaprio in Hollywood, Calif. on Oct. 22, 1993.Ron Galella—Getty Images -
16 of 22From left: Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp attend a screening for What's Eating Gilbert Grape in Los Angeles on Dec. 12, 1993.Ron Galella, Ltd.—WireImage -
17 of 22Leonardo DiCaprio in 1994.Darryl Estrine—Corbis -
18 of 22Leonardo DiCaprio during the 66th Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles on March 21, 1994.Barry King—Getty Images -
19 of 22Leonardo DiCaprio in 1994.Darryl Estrine—Corbis -
20 of 22From left: Leonardo DiCaprio and Dennis Hopper in New York City on April 2, 1994.Steve Eichner—Getty Images -
21 of 22Leonardo DiCaprio in New York City in 1995.Catherine McGann—Getty Images -
22 of 22From left: Mark Wahlberg and Leonard DiCaprio attend the film premiere of The Basketball Diaries in New York City in 1995.Rose Hartman—Getty Images
With the momentum garnered by wins at the Golden Globes and the SAG Awards, and ample talk of the grueling preparations for his role in The Revenant, Leonardo DiCaprio is preparing for what may be—if it materializes as expected—his biggest moment ever: recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor. But long before he was a twinkle in Alejandro Iñárritu‘s eye, he was a babe in his mother’s arms, a sandy-haired child actor mugging for promotional shots and a young dreamboat papering the walls of tween-age bedrooms.
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