His family includes seven children from four relationships:
- Drena De Niro, 54, whom he adopted after marrying her mother, actor Diahnne Abbott
- Raphael De Niro, 49, his son with Abbott
- Julian De Niro and Airyn De Niro, 30, twins he shares with former partner Toukie Smith
- Elliot De Niro, 28, and Helen De Niro, 14, his children with former wife Grace Hightower
- Gia De Niro, 3, his daughter with girlfriend Tiffany Chen
The age range is considerable, but De Niro has consistently described parenting as something learned in real time rather than mastered through repetition.
How did becoming a father later in life affect him?
De Niro welcomed Gia with Tiffany Chen when he was 79. He said becoming a father again later in life felt joyful rather than daunting.
“It feels great,” he told AARP in 2023 after Gia’s birth. “Everything that I’m consumed with or worried about just goes away when I look at her. It’s wondrous.”
That perspective does not erase the practical strain of combining parenthood with a continuing film career. De Niro still works regularly, which means travel, long production schedules and periods away from home. His answer is not especially glamorous: manage what can be managed and accept that some guilt remains.
What parenting advice does De Niro give?
Although he claims no special method for achieving work-life balance, De Niro has a clear principle when it comes to supporting children and their decisions.
“The main thing is to support your kids,” he told Entertainment Tonight in 2025. “As long as they’re not hurting themselves, doing anything destructive or anything like that, you have to support them, period.”
He said that support should continue even when a parent disagrees with a child’s choices. Approval and support, in his view, are not always the same thing.
“Even if you don’t go with it, you have to support them,” he said. “And they have to know that you support them. Always.”
It is a straightforward standard, though not necessarily an easy one. De Niro’s broader point is that parenting does not become automatic with age, experience or family size. The work changes, the guilt persists and the children still need to know someone is firmly on their side.
