At 82, Robert De Niro Welcomed His 7th Child, Bringing “More Fun” to Life With Girlfriend

Sep 22, 2025 by apost team

Robert De Niro's iconic roles in "The Godfather" movie series and in the cult classic "Taxi Driver" continue to appear 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 and follow in his strong footsteps. Even though he has been out of the spotlight for a few years, De Niro is still a magnanimous personality in the entertainment industry. 

Over the years, De Niro has established a strong reputation for himself, despite 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 De Niro's life, he has made it a point to raise his six children as well as he can. 

It's worth noting that the 82-year-old veteran actor's children have not all followed in their father's footsteps; instead, they have chosen a quiet life away from the spotlight. Most children have kept their lives notoriously private, so not much is known about most of them. However, De Niro has spoken to various outlets about his role as a parent and his children a few times. 

Unbeknownst to many, aside from proudly raising biracial children, the actor also became a father at 79. In detail, he welcomed a daughter with his girlfriend, film producer Tiffany Chen, in 2023. De Niro has been hands-on in caring for the youngest member of his family while also juggling his career. Read on to learn more about his children and especially his mixed-race youngest daughter.

While De Niro is proud of his hefty and commendable acting career, his father's role is something he cherishes even more. The actor has been married twice in the past. His first marriage was to singer Diahnne Abbot, whom he married for 12 years from 1976 to 1988. During this time, De Niro and Abbot had one son, Raphael De Niro, and De Niro adopted a 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, when 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, Elliot, who was born in 1998, before splitting 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, Elliot and daughter Helen, born in 2011 through surrogacy. 

Regarding interviews and speaking openly about any of his experiences, De Niro 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 also opened up about his family. His children are of varying ages and have different upbringings, so there are always challenges. 

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De Niro told Everything Zoomer:

"I try to keep us all together as a family. Have things to do together. Have everybody have awareness of the family thing, so they look after each other, especially after I'm not around anymore. It's a fragmented family. But I try my best to keep everybody together." 

De Niro revealed that his son Elliot had autism in 2016, which can be hard on any parent. However, the actor has consistently shown that his love for his children always prevails over other frustrations he may have. De Niro told Us Weekly: "I love my children, just being with them," and continued: "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."

De Niro also 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." 

De Niro is also a happy father to have all his children close to him. He told the LA Times: "Everybody's in New York and, hopefully, my younger kids will go to college in New York and find something they want to do, so they'll stay in the city." He then stated:

"I like the kids to be around. If they want to go to college here and live at home, I won't have a problem with that."

In 2023, the iconic actor welcomed his seventh child with his girlfriend, Chen. De Niro revealed baby Gia's first photo on CBS Mornings in May 2023. Speaking to Page Six, De Niro admitted that he was not surprised that he had a baby at 79. It turns out the pregnancy was "planned" all along. In a 2023 interview with Gayle King on CBS Mornings, Chen shared that the arrival of Gia made her and De Niro's life together "more fun." 

She also shared that after giving birth, she lost all movement on her face. An MRI revealed that she was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy, resulting in her losing her smile. Many slammed her stoic expression and unhappy face, which they thought was her displeasure with public appearances. As soon as she went home and noticed the changes on her face, Chen recalled that her face "melted on itself" and basically lost all facial functions as soon as she was admitted to the hospital. De Niro was "very sweet" and "very supportive" throughout Chen's medical endeavor. 

De Niro was hands-on in raising his seventh child with Chen. Speaking to PEOPLE, he shared that he wants his child to learn to speak English and Chinese. The actor said:

"(She is) half-Chinese. I want to try to teach her Chinese and show her nursery rhymes in English and Chinese."

In an October 2023 interview with The Guardian, De Niro described life at 80 with a newborn, admitting that "it doesn't get easier," and saying:

"It is what it is. It's okay. I mean, I don't do the heavy lifting. I'm there, I support my girlfriend. But she does the work. And we have help, which is so important."

Are you a fan of Robert De Niro? What can you say about him having a child at such an old age? Let us know, and pass this on to your family, friends, and other loved ones out there!