Robert De Niro has spent many years within the highlight, however the Oscar-winning actor has additionally taken on certainly one of his most essential roles away from Hollywood: fatherhood. The esteemed actor is a father of seven youngsters, and in a latest interview, he opened up concerning the challenges of elevating a big household whereas balancing an everlasting profession in leisure.
Robert De Niro is reflecting on his life as a father to seven youngsters, and whereas he does his finest, he acknowledges that he nonetheless has emotions of self-doubt in relation to being current.
The actor’s newest function is that of a retired police detective who’s pressured to reconnect together with his estranged son within the Netflix thriller, “The Whisper Man.” Whereas selling the movie, De Niro spoke with PEOPLE about his personal experiences, saying he doesn’t know if there’s a secret to fatherhood.
“It’s simply managing all of it. And there’s no means round not feeling slightly responsible about not being there at occasions you must, otherwise you suppose you must,” the 83-year-old actor mentioned.
De Niro defined that changing into a mum or dad means leaping into the function and figuring issues out alongside the best way.
The Actor Has 7 Kids Between The Ages Of three And 54
De Niro has seven youngsters with 4 totally different girls. He married Diahnne Abbot in 1976, and collectively that they had Drena and Raphael. The couple divorced in 1988.
The actor welcomed twins, Julian and Airyn, in 1995 together with his then-partner, Toukie Smith. The couple was collectively for about eight years, however they by no means married. They parted methods in 1996 and remained co-parents.
In 1997, De Niro married Grace Hightower, they usually had two youngsters, Elliot and Helen Grace. The actor and flight attendant divorced in 2018.
In 2023, De Niro’s accomplice, Tiffany Chen, gave delivery to a daughter they named Gia.
The actor shares a detailed bond together with his youngsters and has made an effort to stay current of their lives.
Robert De Niro Has Repeatedly Expressed Love For His Kids
His profession took off within the early ’70s, and he starred in a number of hit movies within the years following, together with “Imply Streets,” “The Godfather II,” “Taxi Driver,” “The Deer Hunter,” and “Raging Bull,” to call just a few. He has remained lively within the trade for greater than six many years and continues to tackle new initiatives nicely into his early 80s.
Through the years, the veteran actor has shared glimpses of how he’s as a father. In a 2024 interview on “The Chris Wallace Show,” De Niro talked about fatherhood, sharing that regardless of his busy profession, he all the time put his youngsters first. “I used to be busy, in fact, however I all the time cherished my youngsters,” he mentioned, including that he tries his finest to be an excellent father. “I’m going to placed on my headstone, ‘I attempted my finest’,” he famous.
In 2025, the actor shared some parenting recommendation with Entertainment Tonight, saying, “The principle factor is to assist your youngsters. It’s a must to assist them, interval. They usually need to know that you just assist them. All the time.”
Raphael De Niro Talks About Being Raised By His Mother and father
Raphael, De Niro’s eldest son, is a luxurious actual property dealer and businessman. In 2017, he shared how his mother and father, who have been each within the leisure trade, wished him to study accountability.
Regardless of having an A-list celeb as a father, Raphael mentioned he held varied jobs earlier than coming into the actual property world, together with folding rugs at a retailer, working as a manufacturing assistant for De Niro, and serving as a busboy at Nobu, which his father co-owns.
“My mother and father felt it was good for me to get some accountability. They have been apprehensive that I’d develop into a typical Hollywood child,” Raphael informed The Real Deal.
The daddy and son are additionally enterprise companions, co-owning The Greenwich Resort in Tribeca together with different companions.
Airyn Stated Her Father ‘Ought to Be The Commonplace’
Airyn De Niro got here out as transgender in April 2025, and shortly after, De Niro mentioned, “I cherished and supported Aaron as my son, and now I like and assist Airyn as my daughter. I don’t know what the large deal is. I like all my youngsters,” per The Blast.
Airyn shared that she has acquired “nonstop” assist from her father, who expressed his happiness that she had discovered somebody who loves her for who she is. “He’s superb at being a dad, not simply that, [but also] accepting individuals from all walks of life,” Airyn informed Them.
She additional acknowledged that De Niro “ought to be the usual” in relation to fatherhood.
