Wednesday, 6 August 2008

Leonardo DiCaprio's beloved grandmother dies

Helene Indenbirken passes away at age of 93

Leonardo DiCaprio visited his grandmother in hospital last week

Leonardo DiCaprio is mourning the death of his beloved maternal grandmother, Helene Indenbirken.

Indenbirken, whom The Departed star called Oma, was 93 and passed away in a hospital in her native North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, according to Indenbirken's hometown paper, the Recklinghauser Zeitung.  No exact date or cause of death has been reported. 

Only last week, DiCaprio and his mother visited Indenbirken in the hospital in Oer-Erkenschwick. Her health apparently had begun to decline earlier this year.

As her grandson, 33, who often took Indenbirken with him to his premieres and on to his movie sets, once told Vanity Fair: "She is literally gangsta, and I mean that with an 'a.' She will tell people exactly what she thinks to their face and look them in the eye."

DiCaprio is due back in Oer-Erkenschwick, to attend a small memorial service.

By Karen Nickel Anhalt