Leonardo DiCaprio
DiCaprio in 2011, Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, United States
Date of Birth: November 11, 1974
Ethnicity: German, one quarter Italian, Russian, likely small amount of Polish
Leonardo DiCaprio is an American actor, film producer, and environmentalist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Revenant (2015). He has also starred in the films Critters 3, This Boy’s Life, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, The Basketball Diaries, The Quick and the Dead, Total Eclipse, William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, Marvin’s Room, Titanic, The Man in the Iron Mask, Celebrity, The Beach, Gangs of New York, Catch Me If You Can, The Aviator (2004), The Departed, Blood Diamond, Body of Lies, Revolutionary Road, Shutter Island, Inception, J. Edgar, Django Unchained, The Great Gatsby (2013), The Wolf of Wall Street, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Don’t Look Up, and Killers of the Flower Moon, and on television’s Growing Pains and Parenthood (1990). He founded production company Appian Way Productions. He has also created the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, for the environment, and is a United Nations Messenger of Peace.
He is the son of Irmelin (Indenbirken), a legal secretary, and George DiCaprio, a comic book writer and distributor. His paternal grandfather was of Italian descent, and his paternal grandmother was of German, and some Polish, ancestry. Leonardo’s mother is a German immigrant, and is of German and Russian descent. A picture of Leonardo with his mother and maternal grandmother can be seen here.
He is said to have been named Leonardo because, he first started kicking inside his mother’s womb when she was viewing a Leonardo da Vinci painting in a museum.
Leonardo’s paternal grandfather was George Leon DiCaprio (the son of Salvatore D. DiCaprio and Rosina Cassella). George was born in New York, to Italian parents, from Alife, Province of Caserta, Campania. Salvatore was the son of Biase/Biagio Di Caprio/DiCaprio and Maria Emanuela/Emanuele Incagnoli. Rosina was the daughter of Cipriano Cassella and Camilla Conzales.
Leonardo’s paternal grandmother was Olga Anne Jakubowsky, later Jacobs (the daughter of Paul Jakubowsky/Jacobs/Jacub/Jackes and Bertha Minna Ludwig). Leonardo’s grandmother Olga was from Braunschweig, Germany. Paul was born in Liebau, Schlessin, Germany, now Lubawka, Poland, the son of Paul Jakubowsky and Olga Breuer. Bertha was born in Zerbst, Germany, the daughter of Ludwig Christian and Minna Muller.
Leonardo’s maternal grandfather was Wilhelm Heinrich Indenbirken (the son of Wilhelm Indenbirken and Adelheid Grachowski). Leonardo’s grandfather Wilhelm was born in Herne, Arnsberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Leonardo’s great-grandfather Wilhelm was the son of August Indenbirken.
Leonardo’s maternal grandmother was named Yelena/Helene Lisbeth Smirnova/Smirnow (the daughter of Stefan/Stepan Petrovich Smirnov and Irene/Irina). Yelena was of Russian origin, possibly with roots in Mishkinsky District, Bashkortostan. Leonardo’s great-grandfather Stefan was the son of Pyotr/Petr Smirnov.
Sources: People Magazine mention of Leonardo’s Russian ancestry – http://www.people.com
Genealogies of Leonardo DiCaprio – http://www.geni.com
http://www.wikitree.com
Notes on Leonardo’s paternal grandfather, George Leon DiCaprio’s, ancestry – http://blogs.ancestry.com
Birth record of Leonardo’s paternal grandfather, George Leon DiCaprio – https://familysearch.org
Leonardo’s paternal grandfather, George Leon DiCaprio, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
U.S. Naturalization record of Leonardo’s paternal grandmother, Olga Anne Jakubowsky/Jacobs – https://www.familysearch.org
U.S. Naturalization record of Leonardo’s paternal great-grandfather, Paul Jakubowsky/Jacobs/Jacub/Jackes – https://www.familysearch.org
Death record of Leonardo’s paternal great-grandmother, Bertha Minna Ludwig – https://www.familysearch.org
“Yelena was of Russian origin, possibly with roots in Mishkinsky District, Bashkortostan”
Ann wrote that Piotr was born in Myshkinsky District, Yaroslavl Oblast and clarified that it was not Mishkinsky District, Bashkortostan. So this sentence is the exact opposite of what she wrote even though her sentence was very clear.
Well, sorry then, father. What Ann wrote as far as I could interpret was that the famous Pyotr Smirnov was from Kayurovo, Mishkinsky district, Yaroslavl region. She was contrasting that with the fact that, it seems, this Pyotr who was DiCaprio’s ancestor was from a different Mishkinsky (the Mishkinsky, Bashkortostan claim comes from FamilySearch, via Andrew, so I had written “possibly” on Bashkortostan); and that therefore, they may or may not have been the same person as Geni posits. Another clue Ann cited was that Pyotr didn’t have a son named Stefan that she could find, thus making it even less likely that this is the right family.
Leonardo’s paternal grandmother was Olga Anne Jakubowsky, later Jacobs (the daughter of Paul Jakubowsky/Jacobs/Jacub/Jackes and Bertha Minna Ludwig). Leonardo’s grandmother Olga was a German emigrant from Braunschweig, Germany. Leonardo’s great-grandfather Paul was born in Liebau, Schlessin, Germany (now Lubawka, Poland) to Paul Jakubowsky and Olga Breuer. Bertha was born in Zerbst, Germany and the daughter of Ludwig Christian and Minna Muller.
Naturalization record of Leonardo’s great-grandfather Paul Jakubowsky/Jacobs – https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6LXZ-HLDD
Naturalization record of Leonardo’s grandmother Olga Jakubowsky/Jacobs – https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGYS-VW46
Record of Leonardo’s great-grandmother Bertha Minni Ludwig – https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WL7-VHW
There’s also geneology of Grachowski line, but Idk who made thisб which sources were used and how is it accurate, but maybe somebody will find something interesting.
Btw i know it stated “Rosina Casella” and not Adelheid Grachowski, but somebody accidentally got it wrong.
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/landscape/GW58-KM7
Brilliant update. “Jacobs” alwais looked like a fake surname, in fact now it appears to be Polish, as “Grachowski” on his mother’s side.
Lubawka is interestigly located on Polish-Czech border, on Sudetes: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lubawka
Thank you!
I still remember an article in Russian magazine, where Leo said that his grandmother (grandmothers?) was/were of Russian, Polish and Czech descent. If he talked about Yelena, Olga or both, don’t know, especially after knowing his grandfather likely also have some Polish in him. It was around 2003-2004, so pretty hard to remember it correctly and find it (althroug I seen it in internet about 8 years ago).
So then this is definitely more than a “small amout of Polish,” huh?
Interesting update on geni.com about Helene’s family. It’s stated that Stefan was son of Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov, which other son Vladimir was founder of “Smirnoff” vodka brand.
Piotr was born in Myshkinsky district but in Yaroslavl region not in Bashkortostan.
And everything is fine BUT I can’t find son named Stepan/Stefan…there’s information that Pyotr had 13 children (idk if it’s true) and I find 11 of them, but there’s no Stepan…so I’m not sure if it’s correct ancestor of Leo.
Btw Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov was son of Arseniy Alekseyevich Alekseyev and Matryona Grigoryevna. Family’s original name was “Alekseyev”.
Pyotr was born in Kayurovo, Mishkinsky district, Yaroslavl region.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Arsenievich_Smirnov
Adelheid Grachowski was Masurian from East Prussia
How do you know?
He looked like a better looking version of his mom during his prime