Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio‘s stepmother Peggy has been spotted with the actor at awards ceremonies including Oscars. Making a unique statement in a turban and traditional Indian dress, many wonder about her roots. During a recent interview with TIME magazine, DiCaprio spoke about his family including his stepmother and father, and looked back at the hilarious moment when Brad Pitt confused them for background artists.
Son of a comic book writer George DiCaprio and German-born legal secretary Irmelin Indenbirken, the Oscar-winning actor is known to be quite close to his family. Although his parents separated while he was still a toddler, the actor felt strong support from them growing up and has fond childhood memories with them. “My parents are so a part of my life that they’re like my legs or something,” he told Vanity Fair once.
Who is Peggy Ann Farrar?
Peggy Ann Farrar is DiCaprio’s stepmother and George’s second wife.
“My stepmother is a Sikh. My father is from the sort of hippie counterculture, grew up in San Fran in Los Angeles. He hung out with a lot of the underground art movement in the Los Angeles of the 70s,” DiCaprio revealed in interview with TIME magazine.
DiCaprio’s stepmother converted to Sikhism long ago but started wearing a turban only a few years back. According to Adam Star Farrar’s IMDb biography, his parents were devotees of the late Yogi Bhajan, an American entrepreneur and yoga guru. Peggy earlier lived in northern California when she was with her first husband Michael who managed a dairy farm. Adam was four years when they separated.
Peggy met George DiCaprio for the first time during one of her trips to San Francisco with her theatre group. She shifted to Los Angeles along with Adam, Leonardo’s step brother after her second marriage in 1995. Leonardo was just 1-year-old at the time.
When Brad Pitt mistook DiCaprio’s parents for movie extras
During the shoot of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, DiCaprio’s parents – George and Peggy visited him and Pitt thought they were part of the movie’s background cast.
DiCaprio introduced them to Pitt saying ‘this is my dad, and this is my stepmom.’ He answered with disbelief saying, ‘Yeah, sure,’ DiCaprio recalled during an interview with TIME magazine. “I said, ‘No, it’s them.’ He said, ‘Yeah, sure.’”
The moment quickly turned into immemorable after he understood Pitt’s confusion, and joked that “they look like extras in this movie, but it’s actually them.” He added that this was how they dressed every day. “It was an incredible moment. I’ll never forget it,” DiCaprio said.