Wed, 06 August 2008 22:00:06 ET

Sad news comes from actor Leonardo DiCaprio that he is mourning the death of his beloved 93-year-old maternal grandmother, Helene Indenbirken. The star was left heartbroken as Helen passed away in a hospital in her native Germany.
The news was first reported by German local paper the Recklinghauser Zeitung, but there's no exact date elaborated. Meanwhile, town spokesman Peter Raudszus told The Associated Press on Wednesday, August 6 that Helen died in a hospital on Monday, August 4 in Recklinghausen, near her hometown of Oer-Erkenschwick.
Leonardo, who often took Helen with him to his premieres and on to his movie sets, once told Vanity Fair magazine, "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." He also happily used his celebrity status to benefit her. "The best is being able to go to a clothing designer and get my Grandma a cashmere coat for free. That's pretty cool," he previously told Access Hollywood.
In other Leonardo news, he is currently in talks to play Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin in a new movie, according to reports. The "Titanic" star has been chosen for the role since the film's producers reckoned that Lenin looked like him when he was young. "He would not need a mask to play that role," British tabloid The Sun quoted the film maker Alexander Der Borodyansky as saying.
Posted by Staff Writer
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