Irmelin Indenbirken had a difficult upbringing\u00a0<\/em><\/h2>\n![\"Leonardo](\"https:\/\/hollywoodlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Leonardo-DiCaprio-Mom-Irmelin-Indenbirken-ss-post21.jpg?resize=620%2C862\")
Irmelin Indenbirken looked like a proud mom at the premiere of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood in 2019 (Photo: Matt Baron\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nIrmelin Indenbirken did not have an easy childhood. According to her mother, Helene Indenbirke, she was born in the German village of Oer-Erkenschwick in 1943 in an air raid shelter during a bombing during World War II. “Those were hard times,” she told the German magazine Hellweger Anzeiger in 1998 (via The German Way<\/a>). “We emigrated to America in 1955 \u2013 not in 1943, as some newspapers have reported,” she added, noting that they settled down in a part of New York where many other Germans resided. She said she and her husband, Leo’s maternal grandfather, eventually left America to head back to German in 1985.<\/p>\nIrmelin Indenbirken provided Leo with an eye-opening childhood<\/em><\/h2>\nIrmelin worked as a legal secretary when she met Leo’s father, George DiCaprio, a comic book distributor. The Revenant<\/em> actor previously revealed his parents named him while on a honeymoon in Italy. “My mom felt me kicking while they were looking at a Leonardo da Vinci painting in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and they took it as a message,” the actor told English publication The People<\/em><\/a> in 1998.<\/p>\n![\"Leonardo](\"https:\/\/hollywoodlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Leonardo-DiCaprio-Mom-Irmelin-Indenbirken-ss-post11.jpg?resize=620%2C429\")
Leonardo DiCaprio has brought his mother, Irmelin Indenbirken, to several red carpet events (Photo: Vince Bucci\/Invision\/AP\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nUnfortunately, his parents separated by the time he was one year old, but that didn’t stop them from effectively co-parenting. Apparently, they even bought homes next to each other so young Leo never felt like he came from a broken family, according to Moms<\/em><\/a>. They lived in East Los Angeles, which Leo previously said wasn’t always the best neighborhood for a young kid, which he appreciated. \u201cIt was definitely a rough neighborhood, but it was cool. I got to see a lot of stuff. It\u2019s good to grow up like that, I think. It\u2019s good to see that side at a young age,” he told the Los Angeles Times<\/em><\/a> in 1997.<\/p>\nIt was during his childhood in East Los Angeles that Leo dreamed of becoming a star, and his mom supported him every step of the way. “She supported this little kid who said, \u2018I want to be an actor,\u2019 at 12 years old, which is ridiculous, and she drove me to all these auditions,\u201d he recalled to Access Hollywood<\/em><\/a> in 2014. \u201cShe\u2019s the only reason I\u2019m able to do what I do.\u201d<\/p>\nLeonardo Dicaprio owes much of his success to his mother<\/em><\/h2>\nLeo has not been shy about how much he appreciates his mother’s everlasting support<\/a> and has publicly thanked her numerous times throughout his Oscar-winning career. “I would not be standing up here if it wasn\u2019t for this person,” he said, referring to his mom, during his 2015 BAFTA acceptance speech (via Daily Mail<\/em><\/a>). “I didn\u2019t grow up in a life of privilege. I grew up in a very rough neighborhood in East Los Angeles. This woman drove me three hours a day to a different school to show me a different opportunity,” he explained.<\/p>\n![\"Leonardo](\"https:\/\/hollywoodlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Leonardo-DiCaprio-Mom-Irmelin-Indenbirken-mega-post31.jpg?resize=620%2C729\")
Leonardo DiCaprio brought his mom Irmelin Indenbirken to his very first Golden Globes in 1994 (Photo: MEGA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThat same year, Leonardo called out Irmelin and his father, George, in his acceptance speech for the Screen Actors Guild<\/a> Foundation Actors Inspiration Award. “Mom, Irmelin, George \u2013 I would not be receiving this award and I would not be the actor that I am or be able to do any of the philanthropy that this job has given me the opportunity to have, and I wouldn\u2019t be the person I am without the both of you, so thank you,” he gushed, per People<\/em><\/a>. The Titanic star created the\u00a0Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation <\/a>in 1998 to advocate for the respect of Earth’s resources and support its wellbeing.<\/p>\nIrmelin Indenbirken is protective over her son<\/em><\/h2>\n
Irmelin Indenbirken did not have an easy childhood. According to her mother, Helene Indenbirke, she was born in the German village of Oer-Erkenschwick in 1943 in an air raid shelter during a bombing during World War II. “Those were hard times,” she told the German magazine Hellweger Anzeiger in 1998 (via The German Way<\/a>). “We emigrated to America in 1955 \u2013 not in 1943, as some newspapers have reported,” she added, noting that they settled down in a part of New York where many other Germans resided. She said she and her husband, Leo’s maternal grandfather, eventually left America to head back to German in 1985.<\/p>\n Irmelin worked as a legal secretary when she met Leo’s father, George DiCaprio, a comic book distributor. The Revenant<\/em> actor previously revealed his parents named him while on a honeymoon in Italy. “My mom felt me kicking while they were looking at a Leonardo da Vinci painting in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and they took it as a message,” the actor told English publication The People<\/em><\/a> in 1998.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, his parents separated by the time he was one year old, but that didn’t stop them from effectively co-parenting. Apparently, they even bought homes next to each other so young Leo never felt like he came from a broken family, according to Moms<\/em><\/a>. They lived in East Los Angeles, which Leo previously said wasn’t always the best neighborhood for a young kid, which he appreciated. \u201cIt was definitely a rough neighborhood, but it was cool. I got to see a lot of stuff. It\u2019s good to grow up like that, I think. It\u2019s good to see that side at a young age,” he told the Los Angeles Times<\/em><\/a> in 1997.<\/p>\n It was during his childhood in East Los Angeles that Leo dreamed of becoming a star, and his mom supported him every step of the way. “She supported this little kid who said, \u2018I want to be an actor,\u2019 at 12 years old, which is ridiculous, and she drove me to all these auditions,\u201d he recalled to Access Hollywood<\/em><\/a> in 2014. \u201cShe\u2019s the only reason I\u2019m able to do what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n Leo has not been shy about how much he appreciates his mother’s everlasting support<\/a> and has publicly thanked her numerous times throughout his Oscar-winning career. “I would not be standing up here if it wasn\u2019t for this person,” he said, referring to his mom, during his 2015 BAFTA acceptance speech (via Daily Mail<\/em><\/a>). “I didn\u2019t grow up in a life of privilege. I grew up in a very rough neighborhood in East Los Angeles. This woman drove me three hours a day to a different school to show me a different opportunity,” he explained.<\/p>\n That same year, Leonardo called out Irmelin and his father, George, in his acceptance speech for the Screen Actors Guild<\/a> Foundation Actors Inspiration Award. “Mom, Irmelin, George \u2013 I would not be receiving this award and I would not be the actor that I am or be able to do any of the philanthropy that this job has given me the opportunity to have, and I wouldn\u2019t be the person I am without the both of you, so thank you,” he gushed, per People<\/em><\/a>. The Titanic star created the\u00a0Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation <\/a>in 1998 to advocate for the respect of Earth’s resources and support its wellbeing.<\/p>\nIrmelin Indenbirken provided Leo with an eye-opening childhood<\/em><\/h2>\n
Leonardo Dicaprio owes much of his success to his mother<\/em><\/h2>\n
Irmelin Indenbirken is protective over her son<\/em><\/h2>\n