Inside Robert De Niro’s Confusing Family Tree

1. Robert De Niro has 7 children with 4 different women

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Robert De Niro has a very complicated family tree. It's partly due to his four serious relationships with whom he has had children. With his first wife, he had one child and adopted her previous child. With his second wife, she had two children. He then had two sons with his next partner and he's recently had his 7th child with his most recent partner.

2. His first marriage was to Diahnne Abbott

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Robert De Niro married his first wife Diahnne Abbott in 1976. The two fell in love when they met working together on set. They were together for over a decade but sadly split in 1988. Despite the two of them filing for a divorce the pair stayed very amicable and maintained their family bond.

3. Together they had a child called Raphael De Niro

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Diahnne Abbott and Robert De Niro had a son together named Raphael De Niro. He was born in 1976 and even after the divorce of his parents, he remained close to his father. He is now 46 years old and he has carved a name for himself within the real estate industry.

4. He adopted her daughter from a previous relationship

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Diahnne Abbott already had a child from her previous relationship, named Drena. When she got together with Robert De Niro, he established a father's role in her. At this point, he had no children and he adopted Drena as his own. Even after the divorce, Drena remains just as close to her father De Niro.

5. He married Grace Hightower in 1997

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After his separation from Diahnne Abbott, he remained single for some years until he met Grace Hightower. Hightower was a philanthropist who has worked on improving the livelihoods of Rwandan people. She met Robert De Niro whilst working at a restaurant where he was dining. The two of them tied the knot in 1997!

6. They separated in 1999 and then renewed their vows in 2005

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Things weren't all plain sailing for the couple. In 1999 Robert De Niro filed for a divorce from his wife and he actually tried to sue her for custody of their child in 2001. But, by 2004 the couple reconciled and instead of pursuing their divorce they ended up renewing their vows and getting back together.

7. They then welcomed two children together

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In 1998 Grace Hightower gave birth to the couple's first child together, a baby boy whom they named Elliot De Niro. Then, after some years of separation when the couple rekindled their marriage, they decided to have another child together via surrogacy. So, in 2011 their second child was born who they named Helen.

8. They officially divorced in 2018

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In 2018 after another 14 years together, the couple for the second time decided that it was time to separate, this time for good. The divorce was finalized and this was the end of their very lengthy relationship together. The divorce wasn't amicable by any means and Hightower contested the fact that she was entitled to half of De Niro's $500 million. The judge ruled that she wasn't entitled to such a sum.

9. He had two twin sons via surrogacy with Toukie Smith

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Robert De Niro had a relationship with Toukie Smith during the 1980s. She is an actress and a model and the relationship was very high profile at the time. The couple decided to have children together, and in 1995 they had twins via a surrogate. They named the boys Julian Henry and Aaron Kendrick.

10. The marriage had its ups and downs

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Smith was an extremely talented model and she paved the way and made breakthroughs in the industry as an African American model. But, her personal life was wrought with tragedy. She lost her mother to liver cirrhosis caused by alcoholism. She then lost her brother Will Smith to AIDS. She was struggling a lot with her mental health and she then lost a baby and a very close friend.

11. He's now welcomed his 7th child with Tiffany Chen!

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As of April 6th, 2023, Robert De Niro officially became a father of 7. His baby girl was born, and he and his partner Tiffany Chen named her Gia Virginia Chen-De Niro. The two officially announced on May 11th after she was a month old. She was brought into the world by a surrogate, who has not publicly been disclosed.

12. He was over the moon with his baby girl Gia

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There has been speculation about how Robert De Niro feels about having his 7th child at nearly 80 years old. The couple had planned the baby through surrogacy, and Tiffany Chen (64) and De Niro (79) were both super excited and ready to have another baby together. De Niro stated that he was 'over the moon'.

13. He has a mixed heritage

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Robert De Niro has a mixed heritage. He is part of Italian, Irish, Dutch, English, French, and German descent. His exciting mix of backgrounds is due to his mother Virginia Admiral who was Dutch, English, French, and German who married his father Robert De Niro Sr. who was of Italian and Irish descent.

14. His parents divorced when he was two years old

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De Niro's parents got married in 1942 and in 1943 they had their son, Robert De Niro Jr. The marriage didn't last long and when De Niro was just two years old the couple filed for divorce and separated. His mother then filed for custody which she was granted.

15. His father then came out as gay

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It is not known precisely when, but during the 1970s Robert De Niro's father came out as gay to his family and friends. He had struggled massively with his personal life, and one of the reasons was that he had never felt able o embrace himself fully until he came out as gay.

16. He lived with his mum growing up but spent lots of time with his dad

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So as of two years old Robert De Niro lived only with his mother. However, his parents remained living very close by to one another so his father was in the same neighborhood within walking distance. He would still spend a huge amount of time with his father, as well as with his mother.

17. In 1993 his dad died of cancer

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Robert De Niro Sr sadly passed away in 1993 after battling with cancer. He had a hard life wrought with identity issues and a lack of belonging. Only in later life did he feel more at peace with who he was, however, he was struck by an illness from which he could not recover.

18. His mother struggled with mental illness

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Robert De Niro's mother had a very loving relationship with her son. But the relationship and her life weren't without their struggles. She suffered from mental health issues such as bipolar disorder which led to a lot of tension between mother and son when it wasn't properly treated.

19. She then had a relationship with a man named David C. O'Reilly

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After divorcing from her husband Robert De Niro Sr. Virginia Admiral had a couple of relationships. One of them was with David C. O Reilly. Despite the relationship between them becoming serious, there is very little known on the subject as the whole thing was kept very private.

20. He has one full sister

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Robert De Niro has a sister named Maria De Niro who was born in 1955. Robert De Niro and Maria De Niro had a close bond growing up. The two of them do not see each other regularly anymore, however, as she isn't in the same industry and she remains very private, outside of the limelight.

21. De Niro gained two half-siblings from the marriages

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De Niro not only has two siblings, but he also has two half-siblings from his parent's other relationships. He has a half-sibling on his father's side, a brother named Raphael. And on his mother's side, he also has a half-sibling, a sister names Bonnie De Niro.

22. His father also had a child with another woman

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His father, despite coming out as gay, had a very well-documented relationship with sculptor Dianne Sinclair. The two were together for several years and during this time they had a son together who they named Raphael De Niro. He then became the half-brother of Robert De Niro.

23. His mother was an artist and a poet

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His mother was an artist and a poet living in New York City. She and her son moved around the city a lot as she moved closer to work, or tried to find inspiration from different areas. She gained huge success in her artwork and did create a name for herself within the art world.

24. His father was a painter

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His father Robert De Niro was also an artist who specialized in abstract expressionism. However, he struggled more with his career. He struggled to find the recognition that brought with it sufficient wealth. His personal struggles and career struggles were a combination he found hard to deal with.

25. He has 4 grandchildren

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Not only has Robert De Niro got 7 children, but he also now has 4 grandchildren. He has one grandchild from his eldest daughter Drena and 3 from his eldest son Raphael. De Niro is not only a doting father but he also worships his grandchildren and spends a lot of time with them.

26. Growing up he lived in 'Little Italy'

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De Niro predominantly grew up in Little Italy in Manhattan. His mother and father both enjoyed living there, and his father particularly with his Italian descent found a home there. De Niro made many friends here growing up, many of whom he's still in touch with today.

27. De Niro adores being a doting dad

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De Niro has had one of the most successful acting careers in his generation. Yet this is not his proudest achievement. He has revealed that his proudest achievement is and will always be his children. He said, 'I love my children, just being with them', and he spends as much time as possible with each and every one of them.

28. He's opened up about his children's mixed-racial backgrounds

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Robert De Niro has brought up his biracial children. But he's opened up about how this can be a struggle, with him not being able to comprehend exactly what that is like. He said, 'My children are all half black and I don't have, even me, I take certain things for granted'...

29. There are 51 years between his eldest and youngest child

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There has been a shock in the media recently that Robert De Niro at the age of 79 years old will be a father again to his newborn baby. There is a HUGE age gap between his eldest child and his youngest baby...a total of 51 years! However, he remains as keen a dad as ever.

30. His son is autistic

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Robert De Niro's son Elliot is 22 years old and he has autism. Robert De Niro has opened up about the challenges that he has faced bringing up a child with autism. It was when he was 2-years-old that his wife first noticed that their son had autism.