Before the nominations, red carpets and world success, there was a mother who spent hours in the car to allow her son to pursue a dream.

Irmelin Indenbirken knew well the meaning of the word sacrifice.

She was born in Germany during the war and had reached the United States with her family when she was still very young. In New York he met George DiCaprio, who would become the father of his only son.

Leonardo was born in Los Angeles on 11 November 1974.

His parents' marriage ended when he was still small, but both continued to deal with him. It was above all Irmelin who accompanied him in everyday life, supporting him as he grew up in a difficult area of the city and began to imagine a future away from the neighborhood he lived in.

He did not have important knowledge in the entertainment world.

He couldn't afford a role.

But he could offer him his time.

When Leonardo manifested his desire to act, his mother began to accompany him to the auditions, facing long tragedies and numerous waste. He worked as a secretary and organized his days so that the child could present himself to another audition, attend a better school and continue to believe in his own possibilities.

For years there were no awards or great productions.

There were waiting rooms, advertisements, small TV parties and doors that often closed without an explanation.

Irmelin was still driving.

Leonardo DiCaprio would later tell that he was not raised in a privileged condition and publicly attributed to his mother a decisive part of his success.

That constancy accompanied him to the first important roles, to the Oscar nomination for Happy Birthday Mr. Grape and to the world success achieved with Titanic.

When great awards arrived, Irmelin was often next to him.

Not only as a guest on the red carpet, but as a witness of all the years when the result still seemed far away.

Behind many extraordinary careers there is no one gesture capable of changing everything.

There are thousands of smaller gestures.

An early alarm.

A journey into traffic.

Another audition after another rejection.

A mother who continues to believe in her son's talent even when no one else still seems to be able to see him.

Sometimes a story does not begin with money received by a stranger.

Start with someone who decides to be there every day for as long as it takes.