Robert De Niro, 79, has seven children – six of them with his former partners and one with his current partner Tiffany Chen, who he met on the set of The Intern in 2015
Hollywood icon Robert De Niro admits there is one job he won’t do for his latest child, who he shares with a 45-year-old actress.
The 79-year-old actor, known for legendary roles in The Godfather II, Taxi Driver and more, became a father for the seventh time in 2023 alongside partner Tiffany Chen.
His eldest child, 48-year-old Raphael De Niro, initially dabbled in acting before carving out a successful niche in real estate. And while Robert continues to have a busy schedule since breaking out in the mid 1960s, he insists he’s not too busy to do his fair share of parenting.
De Niro is currently gearing up to delve back into the gangster genre with his upcoming film ‘Alto Knights’, while juggling the demands of a new child.
“I’m an early riser,” he shared with the Sunday Times. “I’ve got a 19-month-old baby.
“I spend my mornings watching [YouTuber] Ms Rachel with her, and I give her her bottle.” However, the actor admits there are aspects of fatherhood he leaves to others.
De Niro revealed that he doesn’t change his youngest Gia’s nappies, though he has done so with his other children in the past. When asked by the Sunday Times whether he helps with the nappies, he simply responded: “No, no, but I used to.”
In a candid chat with Entertainment Tonight, De Niro also acknowledged the complexities of raising children: “You know, my kids disagree with me at times, and they’re respectful.”
“My daughter, she’s 11, she gives me grief sometimes and I argue with her. I adore her, but, you know.
“And my youngest now, that’ll be more to come. But, that’s what it is.”
The mother of De Niro’s little one, Gia, is Tiffany Chen, a 45-year-old martial arts expert from the US, who he met on the set of comedy The Intern in 2015. She disclosed her battle with Bell’s Palsy, a type of facial paralysis that can hit pregnant women for reasons still unknown, which struck her at childbirth.
Speaking to CBS News, she recounted how even when De Niro comforted her, claiming he couldn’t spot any difference, she felt her face was “melting on itself.” The hardest part for Chen wasn’t just her altered appearance but how it affected her new role as a mother.
She said: “The thing I did worry about was ‘What if it didn’t get better?’ Was my kid going to get made fun of for having the weird-looking mom?
“That’s the only time, like, vanity comes into play. It’s how it affects the child.”
