Leonardo DiCaprio has donated $1 million to Hurricane Harvey victims.

Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio

The 42-year-old actor has pledged the huge sum as the inaugural donation to the United Way Harvey Recovery Fund - a national fund which will donate 100 per cent of its pledges directly to those affected by the natural disaster in Texas - via his self-titled foundation.

Brian Gallagher, president of United Way Worldwide - which was only announced yesterday (30.08.17) - said: "We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of Leonardo DiCaprio and his foundation.

"Responding to Hurricane Harvey requires the best of all of us -

and that's what this gift represents.

"United Way's Harvey Recovery Fund will provide much-needed help for the communities along the Gulf Coast where lives have been changed forever."

The tropical storm has wreaked havoc in Texas, killing at least 31 people and destroying more than 50,000 homes.

Leonardo is not the only star to have dug deep to help those affected by the horrific disaster.

Sandra Bullock - who owns a home in Austin, Texas - also donated $1 million to the victims of the storm.

She said: "I'm just grateful I can do it. We have to take care of one another."

Beyonce has pledged to help and is said to have made a "significant donation".

She said: "My heart goes out to my hometown, Houston, and I remain in constant prayer for those affected and for the rescuers who have been so brave and determined to do so much to help. I am working closely with my team at BeyGOOD as well as my pastor [Rudy Rasmus at St. John's in downtown Houston] to implement a plan to help as many as we can."

Rudy added: "She's starting out with a significant donation, and that donation is getting us to launch out into some areas that help us more effectively impact the communities that have been the most affected. She has, over the years, been very generous to our cause, and we continue to work together. She has been a huge benefactor to our efforts here in Houston, Texas.

"She has one huge platform, and information can go out to places that really need to know what's going on in her hometown."

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