ACTOR ACTIVIST Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the most famous and respected actors today He’s taken on challenging roles worked with celebrated directors and actors and won numerous awards DiCaprio also speaks out about how people treat Earth and what the consequences of their actions might be In 2016 he spoke to members of the United Nations UN about the seriousness of climate change In America I have witnessed unprecedented droughts in California and sea level rise flooding the streets of Miami He said climate change has gotten out of control and the lives of all living things are in danger DiCaprio’s interest in the environment began before he acted in any movies or won any awards Though he makes his living as an actor Leonardo DiCaprio is an activist at heart 4
DiCaprio has traveled all over the world to learn more about how climate change is affecting Earth Even though he has a busy schedule as an activist DiCaprio has acted in numerous movies since 1993 THE PARIS AGREEMENT On April 22 2016 DiCaprio spoke to the UN before the signing of the Paris Agreement In this agreement countries from around the world promise to fight against and limit human activities such as burning fossil fuels that are causing climate change to speed up DiCaprio said It will mean nothing if you return to your countries and fail to push beyond the promises of this historic agreement Now is the time for bold unprecedented action 5
LEO AT HOME Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio was born November 11 1974 in Los Angeles California He lived with just his mother Irmelin for most of his childhood His father George a comic book author lived nearby DiCaprio is very close to both his parents He’s said he had a good childhood even though his family didn’t have much money DiCaprio was on a TV show called Romper Room when he was five years old but it wasn’t until he was about 14 years old that he started to seriously think about becoming an actor He told the New York Times I knew I didn’t want to be one of the set things they said I should be at school doctor lawyer blah blah blah 6
In 2015 DiCaprio said that growing up he felt close to Hollywood but also far away He hoped the higher nobles of the acting world might one day reach out and accept him 7
