--- ---  # Leonardo DiCaprio Calls Darlene Cates the 'Best Acting Mom I Ever Had' in Touching Tribute  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Mar 29, 2017 7:31 PM UTC  Leonardo DiCaprio and Darlene Cates Leonardo DiCaprio and Darlene CatesRon Galella, Ltd.—WireImage  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Mar 29, 2017 7:31 PM UTC At just 19, a young Leonardo DiCaprio costarred with fellow actor [Johnny Depp](http://time.com/money/4595199/worlds-most-overpaid-actor-johnny-depp/) in the critically acclaimed movie [_What’s Eating Gilbert Grape_](http://time.com/4210674/johnny-depp-leonardo-dicaprio-mean/)_,_ playing the developmentally challenged son of Darlene Cates. On Tuesday, DiCaprio shared a tribute to his on-screen mom. Cates passed away in her sleep over the weekend at age 69, [PEOPLE reports.](http://people.com/celebrity/whats-eating-gilbert-grape-star-darlene-cates-dies/) “Darlene was the best acting mom I ever had the privilege of working alongside,” DiCaprio wrote of Cates. “Her endearing personality and incredible talent will live on in the memories of those who knew her, and those who loved her work. My thoughts and prayers are with her family during this difficult time,” DiCaprio added in his post. His appearance on _What’s Eating Gilbert Grape_ would launch DiCaprio’s career into the realm of serious acting, garnering him his first Oscar nomination. (Of course, it wasn’t until 2016 that he [finally won the coveted prize](http://time.com/4242472/leonardo-dicaprio-ellen-degeneres-twitter-oscar/) for his performance in _The Revenant_.) Before _Grape_, he had popped up on sitcoms like _Growing Pains_ and _Parenthood_. His onscreen dad for _Growing Pains_, Alan Thicke, also recently passed away; [DiCaprio honored him](http://time.com/4603369/leonardo-dicaprio-on-alan-thicke/) with a thoughtful tribute on Facebook as well. Leonardo DiCaprio Darlene Cates Tribute ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4716406/leo-dicaprio-on-darlene-cates/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4716406/leo-dicaprio-on-darlene-cates/"},"headline":"Leonardo DiCaprio Calls Darlene Cates the 'Best Acting Mom I Ever Had' in Touching Tribute","datePublished":"2017-03-29T19:31:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:42:20.840Z","description":"His onscreen mom Darlene Cates passed away over the weekend.","url":"https://time.com/4716406/leo-dicaprio-on-darlene-cates/","keywords":["Newsfeed","movies","celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6b269c6b456f109/6988c0567cdbac4997d57a45/leo-dicaprio-darlene-cates.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6b269c6b456f109/6988c0567cdbac4997d57a45/leo-dicaprio-darlene-cates.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Screening of \"What's Eating Gilbert Grape\" - December 12, 1993","caption":"Screening of \"What's Eating Gilbert Grape\" - December 12, 1993","creditText":"Ron Galella, Ltd.—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4716406/leo-dicaprio-on-darlene-cates/","name":"Leonardo DiCaprio Calls Darlene Cates the 'Best Acting Mom I Ever Had' in Touching Tribute"}}]}] ```