Robert De Niro’s Seven Biracial Children Have Changed How He Views The World
Robert De Niro’s iconic roles in “The Godfather” movie series as well as in the cult classic “Taxi Driver,” continue to show up in pop culture references even today. The senior star’s inherent talent in acting has inspired generations of actors to step out of their comfort zones as they act and follow in his strong footsteps. Even though he has been out of the spotlight for a few years, Robert is still a magnanimous personality in the entertainment industry.
Over the years, Robert has made a strong name for himself all amidst the successes and failures of his various relationships. After all, long marriages are infrequent in Hollywood as fame is sometimes too harsh on the private lives of celebrities. Despite the challenges that came with each of the three failed marriages in Robert’s life, he has made it a point to raise his seven children as well as he can.
Today, the veteran actor’s children have not all followed in their father’s footsteps, instead choosing a more quiet life away from the spotlight. Most children have kept their lives notoriously private, so not much is known about most of them. However, Robert has spoken to various outlets about his role as a parent as well as his children a few times.
In June of 2020, Robert opened up about his experience raising biracial children on an episode of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” He shared some of his fears and called for things to change in America. Read on to learn more about Robert’s children and see that he is not just a phenomenal actor but also an outstanding dad.
Robert was born on Aug. 17, 1943, in New York City, New York. He found a love for acting at a young age and especially appreciated it as it helped him overcome his shyness. As Robert grew up, he took the art more seriously, studying acting at HB Studio, Stella Adler Conservatory and the Actors Studio. Soon enough, he started finding work in the industry.
Nowadays, the world knows Robert as a renowned actor. He has won a litany of prestigious awards over his many years as a working actor and has even earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom from former US President Barack Obama. Some of his best-recognized performances include “Taxi Driver,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” The Irishman,” “Goodfellas” and “The Godfather II.”
Robert has also proved to have many skills behind the camera. He founded the film and television production company TriBeCa Productions with producer Jane Rosenthal. The pair also founded the Tribeca Film Festival in 2002.
The talented man has continued to make waves in the entertainment industry. According to his IMDB, Robert has stayed busy making films in recent years. Some of his projects include “Joker” with Joaquin Phoenix, “Savage Salvation,” “The Comeback Trail,” “The War with Grandpa” and “Amsterdam.” The latter film also featured a plethora of other notable stars, including Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, Anya-Taylor Joy and Taylor Swift.
Robert has certainly left a lasting impression on people from all walks of life. From his family to his friends to his fans, Robert has continued to touch the lives of many.
One of Robert’s dearest friends is acclaimed actress Meryl Streep. The actress is best recognized for her work on stage and in films. Some of her most popular productions include “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Julie & Julia,” “Into the Woods,” “Little Women” and “Mamma Mia!”
Robert and Streep are truly legends in their own right. While Robert has made a name for himself in countless films, he spoke with Parade in 2011 about how he learned never to take fame for granted. He explained:
“You have to be very careful with all that because it is fleeting. I think if you have the opportunity to work and do things such as I have, you have to be grateful that you had the chance and take advantage of the opportunity because you might not ever get another one.”
Streep also has a great deal of success and fame under her belt, so much so that “Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep” author Michael Schulman called her the “‘Iron Lady’ of acting.” And while both Robert and Streep have found success individually, they have also found it together.
The pair have known each other for quite some time. They have co-starred in a handful of films together, including “The Deer Hunter” in 1974, “Falling in Love” in 1984, “Marvin’s Room” in 1996 and “First Man” in 2004. The two stars have somehow teamed up almost every decade, it seems! With that in mind, it’s not surprising that they have shown their appreciation for one another over the years as well.
In 2017 fans and fellow peers of Streep showed their appreciation for the actress following her win at the Golden Globe Awards. She received the Cecil B. DeMille Award, according to PEOPLE. Robert had been honored with the same award back in 2011 and was very moved by Streep’s speech, where she talked about how hurt she was seeing another public figure mocking someone with a disability.
Robert wrote Streep a letter that said:
“What you said was great. It needed to be said, and you said it beautifully. I have so much respect for you that you did it while the world was celebrating your achievements. I share your sentiments about punks and bullies. Enough is enough. You, with your elegance and intelligence, have a powerful voice — one that inspires others to speak up as they should so their voices will be heard too. It is so important that we ALL speak up. We love you.”
Streep was sure to return the sentiment in 2018 when Robert once again shared more reasons why he appreciated the actress. According to Entertainment Tonight, Robert delivered a touching speech to his friend as she was given the award for Best Actress at the National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala.
“Meryl is the most generous and giving actor,” he said. “She not only inhabits her own character, she helps bring out the character of everyone else on the screen.” The actor continued: “Meryl, thank you for speaking out on matters of conscience that affect us all. Thank you for being an actress who plays the most interesting characters with full commitment and without judgment.”
Robert concluded his speech: “Meryl doesn’t seem to have any imperfections. And I say that with the most love for you, Meryl. I love you so much.”
Streep seemed to feel the same as she gave her kind friend a big hug and a surprising kiss on the lips, too!
Although the kiss was nothing romantic, it was clear that Streep and Robert shared — and still share — a great deal of love for one another, and their friendship is as strong as ever.
Streep is not the only famous friend Robert has, though, as he is also wonderful friends with Al Pacino. The two legends starred in Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” together. And after 50 years of delivering riveting performances on screen, the film proved to be a crowning achievement for them both.
This was also not the first time Robert worked with Scorsese, and the two joined forces on several movies together, including “Taxi Driver” and “Goodfellas.”
“The Irishman,” which received great reviews, was based on a novel by Charles Brandt about the mysterious disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, played by Pacino in the film. Despite the advancing ages of the men, their performances in the film were highly charged and emotional.
While Robert and Pacino each have had respectable careers for several decades, they have also been friends for over 50 years. The pair have a unique bond that could only come from both being lauded as two of the greatest living actors of our time.
Robert and Pacino had not appeared in the same scene together since the 1995 film “Heat,” but it only lasted for a few short moments.
Although the two went on to make many great films separately, Robert and Pacino proved that they worked well together both on-screen and off.
As the pair sat together in a GQ interview to talk about their friendship and their careers, they relaxed like two old friends. Pacino tried to recall how long they had known each other, and De Niro stated that it had been over 40 years. Robert corrected him, saying it had been even more.
Pacino also described his impression of Robert the first time he saw him. He was impressed with his unique demeanor and charisma. He knew that he possessed some special qualities.
Of course, as someone who has been in the industry for multiple decades, Robert has formed more friendships with more people, including more of his former co-stars.
Speaking to the SAG-AFTRA foundation podcast in 2014, Leonardo DiCaprio talked about how much he admires Robert and the friendship they share, as well as his partnership with Scorsese.
“He is my favorite actor of all time, he really is,” DiCaprio revealed, speaking about Robert. “That relationship with him and Scorsese just influenced every one of my friends in the industry that I’ve met through the years. That is sort of the golden relationship of cinema to me.”
DiCaprio had worked with Robert on three films already, “This Boy’s Life,” “Marvin’s Room” and “The Audition.”
Robert has surely proven that his friends mean a great deal to him, but no one means more to him than his family – especially his children.
While his hefty and commendable acting career is something that Robert is proud of, his role as a father is something he cherishes even more. Robert has been married twice in the past. His first marriage was to singer Diahnne Abbot, whom he was married to for 12 years from 1976 to 1988. During this time, Robert and Abbot had one son, Raphael De Niro, together, and Robert also adopted daughter Drena De Niro from Abbot’s previous relationship.
Mindfood reported that Raphael worked as an actor for some time before pursuing a career in real estate. After Abbot, he was in a long-term relationship with model Toukie Smith from 1988 to 1996, during which time he had twin sons Aaron and Julian with Smith through a surrogate, according to PEOPLE.
His final marriage was to actress Grace Hightower, with whom he shared a somewhat volatile relationship. The couple married in 1997 and had a son, Eliot, who was born in 1998 before the couple split in 1999. The pair then engaged in a custody battle for a while, according to PEOPLE, but eventually smoothed things over and even had a vow renewal ceremony in 2004 before splitting permanently in 2018. The couple shares two children, Eliot, and daughter Helen, who was born in 2011 through surrogacy. In 2023, Robert became a father for the seventh time, after his girlfriend Tiffany Chen gave birth to their daughter Gia.
When it comes to interviews and speaking openly about any of his experiences, Robert is known for his notoriously tight lips. Over the years, he has said very little about his likes, dislikes and opinions, but through those times, he has opened up about his family as well.
Robert’s children are of varying ages and have different upbringings, which means that there are sometimes challenges. “I love my children, just being with them,” he told Us Weekly. “It’s not easy. Sometimes it’s fun and you love your kids, and sometimes you want to kill them!” The actor also added, “Then, when you have the good moments, you forget about the ones that weren’t good.” Many parents can probably understand where he is coming from.
The actor also shared how he tries to be there for his children. Robert told MindFood in 2014, “I try to be honest with my kids and have them confide in me, if you will. I let them know that what they’re going through is not very different from what I went through growing up.”
While some things remain the same from when he was growing up, one difference that Robert has acknowledged is that all of his children are biracial and he is not. He spoke about the subject on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” before he’d had his seventh child. Robert shared:
“My children are all half Black and I don’t have, even me, I take certain things for granted. When people say that they tell their kids, ‘Keep your hands (out) when you’re stopped by any cops, keep your hands on the steering wheel, don’t make a sudden move, don’t put your hands below, don’t do this,’ you understand that. That’s scary. That has to change.”
Robert always tries to steer his kids in the right direction. Speaking to PEOPLE in January 2020, he said, “For my kids, I tell them, ‘If you want to be an actor or you want to do this or that, that’s fine as long as you’re happy. Just don’t sell yourself short.’”
From the way he has spoken about his kids, it seems like Robert De Niro is a pretty incredible dad. What do you think about his experience raising biracial children in America? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your family and friends.
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