Leonardo DiCaprio is the latest star to fall ill with pneumonia, with the Hollywood actor revealing he was recovering from the deadly lung infection while on the promo trail for his recent film.
As reported by Time Magazine, who crowned the 51-year-old their 2025 Entertainer Of The Year, DiCaprio was ‘recovering from pneumonia’ when they sat down to interview him in October.
He shared few details about when or how he fell ill, or what type of pneumonia he had, instead speaking about filming the critically acclaimed movie One Battle After Another and his passion for conservation.
He mentioned his former Marvin’s Room co-star Diane Keaton, who died from pneumonia in October—around the time he was speaking to Time Magazine—when she was 79.
It’s not clear if the actress had lost her battle with the potentially fatal lung disease at the time.
He said: ‘She had the most incredible laugh. It would echo through the entire set, and she made you feel like the funniest person in the world.
‘I mean, burst-out-loud laughing. I’ll never forget it. I kind of lived to make her laugh every day on set, because it was so infectious. She was incredible.’
Pneumonia was also listed as Val Kilmer’s cause of death in April of this year.
The Top Gun star was 65 when he died, and recently Ibiza bar owner Wayne Lineker, 63, worried fans when he revealed that he had been hospitalised with the illness.
Their ages are no coincidence—pneumonia was once known as the ‘old man’s friend’ because of how many elderly people succumbed to it.
Experts previously explained to the Daily Mail why there seems to be more cases of pneumonia than ever before, and why it’s bad news if you currently have flu—it means you are highly susceptible of falling victim to the debilitating condition.
Pneumonia is a type of chest infection that affects the tiny air sacs in the lungs, leaving sufferers struggling to breathe, and in some extreme cases, coughing up blood or fighting for their life on a ventilator.
ONS figures reveal that in 2024 there were 23,061 deaths in England and Wales where influenza (flu) and pneumonia, which have been banded together by statisticians since 2020, were listed as the underlying cause.
Professor Paul Hunter from Norwich Medical School told the Daily Mail that there’s a reason why the two illnesses are regarded as coming hand-in-hand.
He said: ‘There are multiple types of pneumonia, but pneumococcal pneumonia is caused by a bacterial infection which commonly follows influenza.
Read more As Leonardo DiCaprio reveals secret pneumonia battle, experts explain spike in deadly lung infection
