The revolution in Russia scattered many good people around the world. And today it is slowly becoming clear that some Western celebrities have Russian roots. So it happened with the fate of Elena Smirnova. When she left the Russian Empire, the 3-year-old girl did not even suspect that she would take part in the upbringing of her such famous grandson.

From the Bolsheviks to Europe

Grandmother Leonardo DiCaprio was born a simple girl - Elena Stepanovna Smirnova - in Odessa. After the revolution, her parents emigrated to Germany. There she married and became Helena Indenbirken. The Second World War found a woman with her husband also in Germany.

The family miraculously escaped repression, since the woman's origin at any moment could attract the attention of anti-Semites to her. Elena Stepanovna herself recalled these times as the most difficult in her life. Immediately after the war, they moved to live in the United States. And in 1974, the story of another celebrity began.

Grandmother and grandson bond

It was in this year that her grandson Leonardo was born. She was engaged in his upbringing from the first days. Grandma always supported him. And for this Leo is grateful to her even now, many years later.

As DiCaprio himself recalls, Elena Stepanovna was a woman with a strong character. She brought up her grandson in healthy severity and stubbornly sought obedience from him. It’s just that in life there are no more difficulties that she can’t do after the Second World War she experienced.

Leonardo never forgot about Elena Stepanovna. Even when world fame fell on his shoulders, he regularly visited her or called up a woman. He fully understands that he owes everything he was able to achieve to his beloved grandmother and the severity of her upbringing.

Elena Stepanovna died in 2008, when she was 93 years old. Her life was full of sorrows and happiness. But she left behind her grandson, who even now, having worldwide fame, sometimes recalls her with gratitude in an interview.

Did you know about the Russian roots of this great actor?

Reminds me of the famous Perm grandmother.

The picture shows Elena Stepanovna Smirnova with her famous grandson Leonardo DiCaprio.



The picture shows Leonardo DiCaprio with his mother Irmelin DiCaprio, nee Indenbirken and grandmother Elena Indenbirken, nee Smirnova.


Pictured is Leonardo DiCaprio with his grandmother

In one of his interviews, DiCaprio expresses pride in his Russian roots. “I know that if in Russia you are considered a “real man”, this is a serious compliment. My grandmother was Russian - Smirnova - and for me she is the embodiment of inner strength and integrity. She went through poverty, war and emigration. Grandmother, grandfather and other relatives on their part are real strong Russians with a difficult fate that did not break them. I can’t comment on how “real man” I myself am, but if there is something like that in me, then it’s from them. And the more I meet people in my life, the more I understand that my Russian grandparents were the most “real”. Even in periods of deaf lack of money and despair, they had a core and self-esteem, which I now see in few people, ”he said in one of his interviews.

Pictured is Leonardo DiCaprio with Vladimir Putin (2010)

In 2010, within the framework of the Tiger Forum, the famous actor met with Vladimir Putin (the prime minister in those years).

Vladimir Putin and DiCaprio also talked about the Russian roots of the actor. "Yes, the name of my ancestors was Smirnov," DiCaprio said. "A famous surname," Putin said with a smile.
He asked DiCaprio if he spoke Russian. “No, but if my grandmother was here, she would speak Russian with you,” the actor said. “I always wanted to bring my grandmother to St. Petersburg, but, unfortunately, these plans will no longer come true, since she passed away two years ago."

In a conversation with Vladimir Putin, Leonardo DiCaprio said that the surname of his ancestors was the Smirnovs. Moreover, not only his grandmother was Russian, but also his grandfather.

“So I’m half Russian, not a quarter,” said the actor, whose American veins, in addition to Russian, have Italian and German blood.

DiCaprio's grandmother is Helen Indenbirken, nee Elena Smirnova, who emigrated from Russia to Germany and died two years ago at the age of 83. In an interview, she repeatedly said how proud she was of her famous grandson and rejoiced at his arrival to her in Germany, where she and her husband decided to settle after 30 years of living in America.

“We moved to the States in the early 50s,” Indenbirken said. - My daughter was born in a bomb shelter in 1943, during an air raid. There were hard times. But we emigrated to America in 1955, and not in 1943, as some newspapers say. And how was this possible during the war? In New York we lived in the sector with many Germans. In 1985, my husband and I left the “American way of life” behind and moved back to Germany.”

Helen Indenbirken, in numerous interviews with which German journalists simply tortured her, noted that success did not change Leonardo's attitude towards her. He was still her little grandson, who enjoyed spending time with her and her grandfather in Ohr-Erkenschvik, North Rhine-Westphalia, when the filming schedule allowed.

By the way, the Russian grandmother also often visited DiCaprio. For example, she attended the filming of Titanic in Mexico and accompanied Leo to the grand premiere of this film in London. She communicated with her grandson in English, but sometimes, as a joke, Leo tried to switch to German he had long forgotten. When asked if he spoke Russian, DiCaprio replied to Putin: “No, but if my grandmother were here, she would speak Russian with you.”

Recall that Leonardo got to St. Petersburg, where the International Forum on the Conservation of the Tiger Population was held, only the third time.

Speaking at a concert at the Mikhailovsky Theatre, Putin thanked the artists who arrived from countries where tigers live.

“I would like to speak separately about this famous and beloved American actor in many countries of the world, not only because he contributed a million dollars of his own money to the Wildlife Fund, although this is also important, and thanks to him for this, but it’s not only about this,” Putin said. “The day before yesterday, he took off on a regular plane, and when the plane gained altitude, one of the engines caught fire. We must pay tribute to the American pilots, who showed courage, composure and professionalism and, in order to start the fire extinguishing system, turned off all the engines and the aircraft was in a state of free fall for several seconds. After that, the engines were started and returned to New York.”

“I think that not everyone would have the desire to continue the journey, but Mr. DiCaprio is not one of them,” Putin stressed. He got into another plane, a small private one, and continued his journey. But the adventure didn't end there. Due to the extremely strong wind over the ocean, the plane ran out of fuel ahead of schedule and was forced to land in Helsinki... The plane was refueled in Helsinki, and Mr. DiCaprio did not arrive, but broke through to St. They say he's a real man! If the cause of protecting nature, and in particular tigers, is in the hands of people with such a character, we are doomed to success.”

Leo, a year ago I talked with James Cameron, and he said that as soon as you came to the shooting of Titanic, you immediately announced to the director that you had to dramatize the role of Jack Dawson as much as possible, otherwise it would not be interesting to work. Your roles in "Gangs of New York", "The Departed", "Shutter Island", "Blood Diamond" only confirm that you constantly walk the thin line that separates the heat from the anguish, never crossing it.

Leonardo DiCaprio: It's true. I'm interested in a role that will inject adrenaline into me, and then into the viewer. When I read the script, I'm looking for how to heat up the emotions without giving them an external outlet, so that there is this wonderful excitement, this degree of communication. James is right: I wanted this inner trembling in the character drawing. And I think it worked out.

Well, in the role of Calvin Candy in "Django Unchained" this trembling - in abundance.

DiCaprio: I've never played anything like this before. Tarantino is generally a master with a refined mind - he knows how to unfold the plot and write out the character like no other. This is especially evident, of course, in the latest films: well, tell me, who would have thought of making Hitler die in a movie theater? In "Django" he fearlessly rewrites the very pages of American history, one touch of which threatens with an electric shock. The topic of slavery was hushed up for so many years that it was driven into the farthest corners of the subconscious, and Tarantino pulled it out of there, combined it with his boundless imagination, and a mesmerizing picture turned out. My character Candy is a real Caligula of the 19th century: tasteless, narcissistic, capricious racist. He kills people for fun, arranges orgies out of boredom, tyrannizes without purpose. Among my roles, there has never been such a refined villain. It was very interesting to play, but it was difficult. You spoke of a thin line that I don't cross. Но здесь была другая линия, которую следовало переступить, а я физически не мог: мне надо было относиться к людям, как к вещам, измываться над ними, звать "моих" чернокожих рабов "ниггерами" - черномазыми. It is terribly painful for Americans to awaken images of the disgusting past, all the abomination of those relationships. And in my brain there was some kind of psychological block that slowed down the work. It took a lot of persuasion from my black colleagues Jamie Foxx and Sam Jackson, such a kind of psychotherapy, so that I could somehow remove this block and step over the line. They told me: "If you do not reach the end in this abomination, if you restrain these vile emotions, then the truth will not be told, and they will not believe you - they will decide that another varnisher has appeared." And I realized: the worse I am - Candy - the better the film.

Did you work well in this team?

DiCaprio: How else? There, every actor is a dream for a partner. We charged each other on the set, from Sam, from Christoph Waltz, from Jamie, from Quentin himself such energy emanated that simply lifted you, forcing you to give everything that you had accumulated for this role - here and now. We sometimes sat around the table: Jamie, Kerry Washington, Waltz, Tarantino, in order to calmly delve into the characters, and after a minute of calmness it was as if it had not happened - everyone lit up not only with his role, but tried to help his partner, give him more color in the image. And then some tornado brought in Samuel Jackson and picked you up in such a way that it took your breath away. Worked great!

Don't you think that this passion for dramatization of material goes back to your Russian roots?

DiCaprio (laughs): Quite possible! My grandmother Elena Smirnova was quite dramatic. We were very close, and I still feel her influence on my character.

have you been to Russia?

DiCaprio: Once, and in a swoop, for which I do not get tired of reproaching myself. We should go, stay longer to feel the country, the people, but the actors are forced people - we don’t go where we want, but where we are sent.

Why don't you become a director - would you be your own boss?

DiCaprio: I'm known in the industry for digging into a role longer than it's supposed to and beyond what's tolerable, so if I started directing a movie, I'd never finish it. Although, of course, there is a vague desire, and it only grows over the years.

How about playing in a Russian play, in Chekhov, for example? I can well imagine you in the role of Uncle Vanya.

DiCaprio: It's funny that you suggested that. I recently watched "Uncle Vanya" in New York and mentally tried on myself for the main image. It would be hard work, but rewarding work. I confess: I would very much like to, and I hope that someday it will work out.

Let's go back to what you have already played or what you are working on now. In a few months, The Great Gatsby, based on the novel by Scott Fitzgerald, will be released in which you play the title role. Do you feel the connection between Candy and Gatsby - both of them are such bar, overwhelming others ...

DiCaprio: It is so, and even more than that. I am currently finishing The Wolf of Wall Street and I think that these three characters, which I played in a very short time, create a kind of trilogy of American character - indomitable, selfish and merciless. A character for whom the origin of money is unimportant, the conditions for obtaining it are unimportant, but self-affirmation, if available, is extremely important. It seems to me that now, against the backdrop of the global economic crisis, showing and exposing this timeless passion for money and the corruption of souls with this passion can be very interesting. Gatsby directed by Baz Luhrmann, Wolf directed by Martin Scorsese.

...whose actor they call you. He constantly occupies you, from tape to tape.

DiCaprio: Yes, we have great chemistry. (smiles) And we both love drama. Seriously, Marty is one of the biggest artists of our time and he has given me so much. "Wolf" is my sixth film with him, and each work captures me insanely. But it would be interesting to work with other directors: with Terrence Malick, for example, Kathryn Bigelow is a surprisingly interesting director! Or with Paul Thomas Anderson. And, of course, if Tarantino calls me to the next film, I will do my best to gain a foothold there - they don’t scatter work with such masters.

Images from the movie "Django Unchained"

November 3, 2019, 20:55

Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the most famous and talented actors of our time. In his filmography there are melodramas, and serious films, and fantastic action films, and serials. The actor was born and raised in the United States, but has repeatedly stressed that he is proud of his Russian roots.

Leonardo with his grandparents in Karlovy Vary.

Russian blood Leonardo got on the maternal side, namely, from his grandmother. The name of the grandmother of Leonardo DiCaprio is Elena Stepanovna Smirnova. It was under this name that she was born in pre-revolutionary Russia and lived here for the first years of her life. By the way, the exact information about where the Smirnov family came from is unknown. There is evidence that the Russian grandmother of Leonardo DiCaprio was from Perm. In other sources, the city of Odessa or the Kherson region is called. However, Leo himself used to say simply - "from Russia."

After the revolution, Elena's parents immigrated to Germany, where the girl grew up. Here her name was changed to German and began to be called Helen. When Helen grew up, she married the German Wilhelm Indenbirken and took his last name. A girl was born in their family, who was named Irmelin. Leonardo DiCaprio's grandparents spent the entire Second World War in Nazi Germany. Helen herself in an interview said that her daughter Irmelin was born in 1943 in a bomb shelter during an air raid.

Leonardo's parents.

Leo with mom.


With Dad.

“I know that if in Russia you are considered a “real man”, this is a serious compliment. My grandmother was Russian - Smirnova - and for me she is the embodiment of inner strength and integrity. She went through poverty, war and emigration. Grandmother, grandfather and other relatives on their part are real strong Russians with a difficult fate that did not break them. I can’t comment on how “real man” I myself am, but if there is something like that in me, then it’s from them. And the more I meet people in my life, the more I understand that my Russian grandparents were the most “real”. Even in periods of deaf lack of money and despair, they had a core and self-esteem, which I now see in few people, ”he said in one of his interviews.

Leo with his mother and grandmother during a break between the filming of the film "Titanic".

Leonardo DiCaprio's grandmother Helen Indenbirken (born Elena Stepanovna Smirnova) died in 2008 at the age of 93. Leonardo in many interviews notes the contribution of his grandmother, which she made to the formation of his character and upbringing, as well as how truthful, honest and loving a woman she was.