At 79, Robert De Niro Reveals New Baby As He Becomes Father Of 7

May 10, 2023 by apost team

Legendary actor Robert De Niro dropped a bombshell during an interview while promoting his film "About My Father," correcting the reporter when she referred to his six children and said on May 8, 2023 – at the age of 79 – a father of seven!

Robert was born on Aug. 17, 1943, in New York City, New York. He found a love for acting at a young age and especially appreciated it as it helped him overcome his shyness. As Robert grew up, he took the art more seriously, studying acting at HB Studio, Stella Adler Conservatory and the Actors Studio. Soon enough, he started finding work in the industry.

Nowadays, the world knows Robert as a renowned actor. He has won a litany of prestigious awards over his many years as a working actor and has even earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom from former US President Barack Obama. Some of his best-recognized dramatic performances were in films such as "Taxi Driver," "The Deer Hunter," "Heat," "Casino," "Goodfellas" and "The Godfather II," for which he won a Best Supporting Actor award in 1974. He also won rave reviews for comedic turns in films like "Analyze This" and "Meet The Parents."

Robert has also proved to have many skills behind the camera. He founded the film company TriBeCa Productions with producer Jane Rosenthal, as well as the Tribeca Film Festival. 

Over the years, De Niro has made a strong name for himself amidst 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 children as well as he can. 

While his hefty and commendable acting career is something that Robert is proud of, his role as a father is something he cherishes even more. Robert has been married twice in the past. His first marriage was to singer Diahnne Abbot, whom he was married to for 12 years from 1976 to 1988. During this time, Robert and Abbot had one son, Raphael De Niro, in 1976. Robert also adopted a daughter, Drena De Niro, from Abbot's previous relationship. Mindfood reported 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, during which time he had twin sons, Aaron De Niro and Julian De Niro, with Smith through a surrogate. 

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, Eliot, who was born in 1998 before the couple split 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, Eliot De Niro and daughter Helen De Niro, who was born in 2011 through surrogacy. 

When it comes to interviews and speaking openly about any of his experiences, Robert 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 opened up about his family as well. In May 2023, he finally shared some of his personal feelings on parenthood as well as surprising news about a new addition to the family.

apost.com

On May 8, 2023, De Niro sat down for an interview with ET Canada's Brittnee Blair to discuss his latest film, "About My Father." In the film, Robert plays the role of comedian Sebastian Maniscalco's eccentric dad in a movie based loosely on his real-life relationship with his dad.

Blair then turned the discussion to De Niro's own feelings about fatherhood. "I know you have six kids," Blair said before De Niro interrupted her to correct her mistake. 

"Seven, actually," he revealed and added, "I just had a baby."

Blair could hardly hide her surprise at the news and offered her congratulations. She then asked him if he felt like he was more of a "cool" kind of dad or suffered through some embarrassing dad moments. He responded he goes through the typical ups and downs with his kids, as most other dads do.

"I don't think that I'm a cool father. … I'm okay… My daughter, she's 11, she gives me grief sometimes. I'll argue with her (but) I adore her and with my youngest now, that will be more to come," he remarked.

Robert did not, however, divulge when the baby was born or with whom he shares the child, but what is sure is that the actor will continue caring for his baby in the same way he's cared for all his kids over the years. 

"I don't like to have to lay down the law and stuff like that. But (sometimes), you just have no choice. And any parent, I think, would say the same thing. You always want to do the right thing by the children and give them the benefit of the doubt but sometimes you can't," he said.

Our heartiest congratulations go out to Robert De Niro! Were you surprised by the news? If so, be sure to pass this on to family and friends, so they're updated on the latest developments, too.