Robert De Niro's Family - Father, Mother, Siblings, Wife, Kids

Robert Anthony De Niro is an American actor, director, and film producer who is considered to be one of the most influential and greatest actors of his generation. Born in New York City, De Niro is best known for his roles in Mean Streets, Once Upon a Time in America, Goodfellas, The King of Comedy, and a catalogue of other films. The American has been a prolific actor throughout his career and has been rewarded for his efforts; he has won two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe.

Who are Robert De Niro’s parents?

Born in the Manhattan borough of New York City, Robert De Niro is the only child of painters Virginia Admiral and Robert De Niro Sr. They met in one of Admiral’s painting classes and eventually moved in together, living across New York before they settled down in Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village. They got married in December 1942, and Robert De Niro was born a year later, in August 1943.

Who is Robert De Niro’s mother?

Robert De Niro’s mother, Virginia Admiral, is a painter who studied under Hans Hofmann in New York, and her work was also included in the Peggy Guggenheim collection. Not only that, she was one of the first artists within her artist cohort to sell a painting to the Modern, something that Jackson Pollock managed to do two years later. She had a solo show as well in the same gallery in 1946, and from 1973 to 1980, her art was shown at Buecker & Harpsichords gallery.

Who is Robert De Niro’s father?

Like his mother, Robert De Niro’s father, Robert De Niro Sr., was a painter as well, and he was born in Syracuse, New York. He was the eldest of three children and had a sister, Joan, and a brother, John. The trio was raised in Syracuse.

De Niro Sr. studied at Black Mountain College and then studied with Hans Hofmann at his Provincetown, Massachusetts, summer school. It was where he met Virginia Admiral, whom he later married in 1942. Over the years, he worked at various museums and had his first solo exhibition at the Guggenheim in 1946. He also had a series of solo exhibitions over the years, including at the Charles Egan Gallery, the Jewish Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and more.

Who is Robert De Niro’s wife?

While Robert De Niro isn’t currently married, he has been married twice. His first wife was actress Diahnne Abbott, whom he married in 1976. They had one son, while De Niro also adopted Abbott’s daughter Drena, although the couple divorced in 1988. De Niro was then in a relationship with model Toukie Smith from 1988 to 1996, and the couple had twins, a son named Julian and a daughter named Airyn, who has since come out as a trans woman in April 2025.

The American actor then married actress Grace Hightower in 1997, and their son Elliot was born in 1998, although the couple split in 1999. However, as their divorce was never finalized, they renewed their vows in 2004, and their daughter, Helen, was born in December 2011. However, the couple separated in 2015 before officially getting divorced in 2021.

Robert De Niro's children

As of May 2025, Robert De Niro has seven children. They are:

• Drena, 57: Diahnne Abbott’s daughter from a previous marriage, De Niro adopted her after the couple got married in 1976. She is a former model and actor who has appeared in the movie A Star is Born.

• Raphael De Niro, 48: His son from his first marriage with Abbott, he is a former actor turned real-estate agent whose clients include Jon Bon Jovi.

• Julian and Airyn De Niro, 29: Twins that De Niro had with model Toukie Smith. Julian has acted in a few productions over the years, including The First Lady. Airyn came out as a trans woman in April 2025 but has kept a low profile outside that.

• Elliot De Niro, 27: De Niro’s son, whom he had with actress Grace Hightower, although he has kept out of the spotlight.

• Helen-Grace De Niro, 14: Born via surrogate during De Niro’s marriage with Grace Hightower, she has kept out of the spotlight.

• Gia Virginia Chen-De Niro, 2: De Niro’s daughter with his current girlfriend, Tiffany Chen.