These Pictures of Leonardo DiCaprio at Peak Teen Heartthrob Status Are a Major Trip
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You may find this hard to believe, but Leonardo DiCaprio wasn't born sexy. When he first appeared on the scene in the late '80s, Leo was just a baby-faced tween with adorably floppy hair and a sweet smile, almost unrecognizable from the superhottie he is now. From his first big supporting role in What's Eating Gilbert Grape to his starring roles in the megapopular flicks Romeo + Juliet and Titanic, little Leo definitely has come a long way. Read on to see what the now 44-year-old actor looked like when he first started his career as a fresh-faced 15-year-old.
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1989
Fifteen-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio was the epitome of late '80s fashion when he attended the T.J. Martell Music Event in 1989.
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1992
Nearly three years later at the 1992 MTV Rock 'n' Jock Basketball event at Bren Center in Irvine, CA, little Leo looked as though he'd barely aged a day.
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1993
Leo was all smiles at the What's Eating Gilbert Grape premiere in 1993, which was the film that earned him his first Academy Award nomination.
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1993
A more serious and stylish Leo attended the This Boy's Life premiere that same year, a movie in which he had his first starring role.
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1993
His adorably floppy hair at the Benny & Joon premiere in Los Angeles was everything.
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1993
And if he hadn't already, Leo officially earned '90s hair royalty status at the Carlito's Way premiere.
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1994
By the time the 51st Annual Golden Globe Awards rolled around in January of 1994, a brooding 19-year-old Leo was starting to look less like a boy and more like a man.
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1994
When he wore a tux to the 66th Annual Academy Awards at Dorothy Chandler Pavillion in Los Angeles, he melted our hearts.
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1994
Just look at those baby blues during this close-up shot from the Red Rock West party at Club USA in New York!
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1994
Leo looked sweet as can be during the D.A.R.E. Benefit at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, CA, in 1994.
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1995
And even though he probably should have gotten his hair trimmed before The Basketball Diaries' premiere in Westwood, CA, we still loved him.
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1996
Romeo + Juliet rocketed Leo to superstardom, and he definitely dressed accordingly at the film's 1996 premiere in Los Angeles.
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1997
If Romeo + Juliet didn't put Leo on your radar, then he was impossible to ignore after Titanic, which premiered at Mann Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles in 1997.
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1998
By the time The Man in the Iron Mask premiered at Ziegfeld Theater in New York, there was almost no trace of Leo's baby face left.
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2000
And finally, when The Beach premiered at Mann Chinese Theatre in 2000, Leo had fully blossomed from cutie-pie child star to certified hunk.