If you have ever wondered how many kids does Robert De Niro have, the answer is seven. The legendary actor is the father of Drena, Raphael, Julian, Airyn, Elliot, Helen Grace and Gia, with his children born across several decades and through different relationships. In the latest update, De Niro has also been speaking more openly about the realities of balancing an exceptionally long acting career with fatherhood, admitting that working parents can feel guilty about the moments they miss.
De Niro’s family story is considerably more extensive than many casual fans may realize. His oldest daughter is now in her 50s, while his youngest daughter, Gia, is still a toddler. That means his children span more than five decades, making his family one of the more unusual multigenerational stories among Hollywood’s veteran stars.
The Oscar-winning actor has generally kept his personal life away from the spotlight. Nevertheless, individual members of his family have developed careers of their own, appeared in entertainment projects, worked in business and, in Airyn’s case, publicly shared an important part of her personal journey.
Robert De Niro Is the Father of Seven Children
Robert De Niro has seven children:
- Drena De Niro
- Raphael De Niro
- Julian Henry De Niro
- Airyn De Niro
- Elliot De Niro
- Helen Grace De Niro
- Gia Virginia Chen De Niro
The children come from four different relationships in De Niro’s personal life.
His first marriage was to actress Diahnne Abbott. During that marriage, he adopted Abbott’s daughter Drena and had a biological son, Raphael. De Niro later had twins, Julian and Airyn, with model and actress Toukie Smith.
His second marriage, to Grace Hightower, produced two children, Elliot and Helen Grace. His youngest child, Gia, was born in 2023 to his partner Tiffany Chen.
Gia’s birth was particularly notable because De Niro was 79 years old when he became a father for the seventh time.
Drena De Niro: Robert’s Eldest Child
Drena De Niro is Robert De Niro’s oldest child. She is the daughter of actress Diahnne Abbott from a previous relationship and became De Niro’s adopted daughter after he married Abbott in 1976.
Drena followed a path into the arts and has worked as an actress and filmmaker. Her career has included appearances in films and television projects, and she has occasionally worked in productions connected to her father.
Unlike some celebrity children who actively seek publicity, Drena has generally maintained a relatively private profile despite being connected to one of Hollywood’s most famous actors.
Her life also brought De Niro into the role of grandfather. Drena’s son, Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, died in 2023 at the age of 19. The tragedy was a devastating loss for the family and received considerable public attention because of De Niro’s relationship with his grandson.
The loss has remained one of the most painful events associated with De Niro’s family in recent years.
Raphael De Niro: From Acting to Real Estate
Although Raphael had some exposure to acting when he was younger, he ultimately built a career in real estate. He became a prominent New York real estate broker and has worked with high-profile clients.
His professional life demonstrates that being the child of a Hollywood legend does not necessarily mean following the same career path.
Raphael has also become a father himself, giving Robert De Niro grandchildren through his family. His work and personal life have largely developed outside the entertainment spotlight that surrounds his father.
Julian Henry De Niro
Julian Henry De Niro was born in 1995 and is one of De Niro’s twin children with Toukie Smith.
Julian has followed his father into the entertainment industry. He has worked as an actor and appeared in television projects, including The Politician and The Girlfriend Experience.
Growing up as Robert De Niro’s son inevitably came with a famous surname, but Julian has largely pursued his own professional identity rather than attempting to duplicate his father’s career.
His move into acting has nevertheless made him one of the more publicly recognizable members of De Niro’s younger generation.
Airyn De Niro
Airyn De Niro is Julian’s twin sister and was also born in 1995 to Robert De Niro and Toukie Smith.
Airyn became the subject of increased public attention in 2025 when she publicly came out as a transgender woman. In interviews, she discussed her upbringing, identity and relationship with her family.
Robert De Niro responded publicly with support for Airyn. He emphasized that his love for his children remained unchanged, an important statement that drew widespread attention.
Airyn has also discussed how growing up in a famous family affected her experience and the importance of being able to establish her own identity.
Her story represents a significant recent chapter in the De Niro family’s public life, particularly because the actor has traditionally been protective of his children’s privacy.
Elliot De Niro
Elliot De Niro is Robert De Niro’s son with Grace Hightower. He was born in 1998.
Elliot has generally lived outside the level of publicity associated with his father. De Niro has not made his son’s private life a regular subject of interviews, and details about Elliot’s day-to-day activities remain relatively limited.
His childhood unfolded during a period when De Niro was already one of the world’s most established actors. By the time Elliot was born, his father had already accumulated decades of major film credits.
De Niro has spoken generally about the responsibilities of parenthood and the difficulty of maintaining a family life while working on demanding productions. Those reflections have become more relevant as he continues acting well into his 80s.
Helen Grace De Niro
Helen Grace De Niro was born in 2011 and is De Niro’s daughter with Grace Hightower.
She is one of the actor’s younger children and has grown up largely outside the media spotlight.
Helen Grace’s childhood has coincided with the later stage of De Niro’s career, when the actor has continued appearing in major films and television productions while also becoming involved in producing and other business activities.
Because she is considerably younger than De Niro’s oldest children, her experience within the family is very different from that of Drena and Raphael.
The age difference also means De Niro has experienced parenthood in several distinct stages, from raising children during his early career to parenting a young child decades after becoming a major international star.
Gia Virginia Chen De Niro: His Youngest Child
Gia Virginia Chen De Niro is Robert De Niro’s seventh and youngest child. She was born in April 2023 to De Niro and Tiffany Chen.
Gia’s birth generated significant attention because De Niro was 79 at the time. Her arrival also created a remarkable age gap between the youngest and oldest members of his family.
Despite his enormous fame, De Niro has spoken warmly about the simple pleasures of raising Gia. He has described his youngest daughter as a source of joy and has shared occasional stories about spending time with her.
In a recent interview, he also mentioned that he planned to watch Wicked with one of his daughters, illustrating how his older children and young daughter remain part of his everyday family life in different ways.
Gia’s mother, Tiffany Chen, is a former world-champion martial artist. Chen and De Niro have maintained much of their relationship privately, although they have appeared together publicly on several occasions.
Who Are the Mothers of Robert De Niro’s Children?
De Niro’s seven children were born into a family structure involving four women.
Diahnne Abbott
Actress Diahnne Abbott was De Niro’s first wife. They married in 1976 and had Raphael together. De Niro also adopted Abbott’s daughter Drena.
Their marriage ended in 1988.
Toukie Smith
Model and actress Toukie Smith had twins Julian and Airyn with De Niro in 1995.
The twins were born during a different chapter of De Niro’s career, when he was already a major Hollywood star.
Grace Hightower
De Niro married actress and philanthropist Grace Hightower in 1997. They had two children together: Elliot and Helen Grace.
Their relationship went through periods of separation and reconciliation before ultimately becoming a long-running chapter of De Niro’s family history.
Tiffany Chen
De Niro’s youngest daughter, Gia, was born to Tiffany Chen in 2023. The couple has generally kept their private life away from extensive media coverage.
Robert De Niro on Being a Father
De Niro’s career has required an enormous professional commitment. He has appeared in movies across multiple decades, frequently worked on location and continued accepting major roles long after many actors of his generation had reduced their workloads.
In the latest update, he has acknowledged that this career came with challenges as a parent.
During recent interviews connected with his new Netflix thriller The Whisper Man, De Niro discussed the difficulty of balancing work and family. He acknowledged feeling some guilt about not always being present for every moment in his children’s lives.
The subject is particularly relevant to The Whisper Man, which centers on an estranged father and son. De Niro plays a retired detective whose character becomes involved in a deeply personal family crisis.
The actor’s real-life comments provide an interesting contrast to the fictional father-son relationship explored in the movie.
De Niro has nevertheless made clear that his children remain an important part of his life. His comments about Gia, in particular, suggest that becoming a father again later in life has brought him a different experience of parenthood.
A Five-Decade Age Gap Within the Family
One of the most striking details about De Niro’s children is their enormous age range.
His oldest child, Drena, was born in the early 1970s, while Gia was born in 2023. The difference between them is more than half a century.
This means De Niro has experienced virtually every stage of fatherhood. He has raised children into adulthood, become a grandfather, experienced the loss of a grandchild and, at the same time, continues to raise a very young daughter.
That unusual family timeline is one reason public interest in his children remains strong.
It also means his seven children have grown up in vastly different versions of Hollywood. Drena and Raphael were born before De Niro reached the height of his international fame, while Gia was born into a world where her father’s name is already synonymous with modern American cinema.
Robert De Niro’s Career Continues Alongside Fatherhood
De Niro remains professionally active in 2026. His recent work includes The Whisper Man, which began streaming on Netflix on August 28, 2026.
He is also preparing to return as Jack Byrnes in Focker-in-Law, the latest installment in the Meet the Parents franchise, scheduled for release in November 2026.
That continuing workload helps explain why De Niro’s comments about balancing career and family have attracted renewed attention.
At 83, he remains an active actor while also parenting a young child. His professional schedule illustrates how dramatically his family life has evolved alongside his career.
The Answer: Robert De Niro Has Seven Kids
So, how many kids does Robert De Niro have? The answer is seven.
His children are Drena, Raphael, Julian, Airyn, Elliot, Helen Grace and Gia. They come from different chapters of De Niro’s personal life and have followed very different paths.
Some have worked in entertainment. Raphael has built a career in real estate. Others have maintained considerably more private lives.
The family has experienced extraordinary highs as well as profound loss. De Niro’s youngest child, Gia, has also introduced a new chapter of fatherhood at an age when many people have long since left active parenting behind.
What remains consistent is De Niro’s emphasis on his children and his acknowledgment that fatherhood has been both rewarding and challenging. His recent comments about the difficulty of balancing a demanding career with family life show a more reflective side of the actor than audiences typically see on screen.
As De Niro continues acting, producing and spending time with his family, his seven children remain an important part of the story behind one of Hollywood’s most enduring careers.
Which of Robert De Niro’s children did you know about before reading this? Share your thoughts in the comments and keep checking back for more updates on celebrity families and Hollywood news.