Oscars 2016: Leonardo DiCaprio's life and passions off the screen

From charming beauties around the world to swimming with sharks, Leonardo DiCaprio lives life to the fullest. His movie roles tend to have a signature devil-may-care attitude, a trait he shares off screen.

Aside from his film success, the star – who is a favorite to win his first Oscar this year for his role in the revenge drama The Revenant – has become something of an eco warrior

Hollywood's most charismatic leading man has said that growing up with hippy parents, who emphasized leading a meaningful life over wealth, has shaped his personal philosophy.

CLICK ON PHOTOS FOR FULL GALLERY Leonardo DiCaprio is tipped to win his first Oscar for The Revenant Photo: Getty Images

Family man
As an only child, the actor has always been incredibly close to both his parents, who divorced when he was one. One or both of them often accompany him on his travels. Speaking to HELLO!, he describes his German mother Irmelin as a "force of nature" and has apparently nicknamed her Mamarazzi because she photographs him obsessively. Meanwhile, his father George, a distributor of underground comics, "is one of the most knowledgeable people I have ever met… I always think my greatest education was just sitting down and listening to my father".

Leonardo calls his mum "Mamarazzi" because she photographs him obsessively Photo: Getty Images

Significant others
Leo's famous exes, among them Gisele Bundchen, Bar Refaeli and Blake Lively, have tended to share his outdoorsy interests and commitment to green issues and social justice. More recently he dated Sports Illustrated model Kelly Rohrbach. However, when it comes to a lasting love, the stars have not yet aligned.


The actor's famous exes include supermodel Gisele Bundchen
Photo: Getty Images

The rebel with a cause
Before it was fashionable, Leo was a champion of the environment. He established a foundation 18 years ago that has donated $15 million to save species such as sharks, tigers and elephants. His interest stems from childhood summers spent visiting the Natural History Museum near where he was raised in downtown LA.

Major players
Al Gore set Leo on the path to becoming an eco-warrior after they met at the White House. The Hollywood star also recently had an audience with the Pope. Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin describes him as "a real man" after Leo refused to cancel a trip to a tiger conservation summit despite being involved in a plane accident.


Leonardo speaking at the Paris Climate Conference last December Photo: Getty Images

His play posse
Leo's group of friends has remained virtually unchanged since his late teens. His gang includes a number of fellow former child actors such as Tobey Maguire, Mark Wahlberg, Luke Haas and Kevin Connolly, who used to hang out at glamorous parties around the world with him. Now that many of his pals have settled down with families he has become Uncle Leo to their children.

Adventure
Leo loves exploring nature, trekking in the rainforest, hanging out by the ocean or going sky diving, sometimes with scary consequences. Once his parachute refused to open until the last moment. Another time a shark got into his diving cage. "My friends have named me the person they least want to do extreme adventures with," he told Wired magazine. "If a cat has nine lives, I think I've used a few."

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