# Robert De Niro

| Robert De Niro |
| --- |
| De Niro at the Cannes Film Festival in 2025 |
| Born | Robert Anthony De Niro  (1943-08-17) August 17, 1943 New York City, U.S. |
| Citizenship | * United States
* Italy
 |
| Occupations | * Actor
* director
* movie producer
 |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Works | * Full list
* Scorsese collaborations
 |
| Spouses | * Diahnne Abbott
​ ​(m. 1976; div. 1988)​
* Grace Hightower
​ ​(m. 1997; sep. 2018)​
 |
| Children | 7, including Drena and Raphael |
| Parents | * Robert De Niro Sr.
* Virginia Admiral
 |
| Awards | Full list |

**Robert Anthony De Niro** (/də ˈnɪəroʊ/ *də NEER-roh*, it; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, producer, and director. He is thought to be one of the best and most important actors in his generation. De Niro has been given many awards. He was won 2 Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and nominations for 8 BAFTA Awards and 4 Emmy Awards. He was given the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2003, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2009, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2011, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2019, and the Honorary Palme d'Or in 2025.

His most famous movies were *Mean Streets* (1973), *The Godfather: Part II* (1974), *Taxi Driver* (1976), *The Deer Hunter* (1978), *Raging Bull* (1980), *The Untouchables* (1987), *Goodfellas* (1990), *Cape Fear* (1991), *Casino* (1995), *Heat* (1995), *Jackie Brown* (1997), *Meet the Parents* (2000), *Silver Linings Playbook* (2012), *Joker* (2019) and *The Irishman* (2019).

He was also known for his television roles. He played Bernie Madoff in the HBO film *The Wizard of Lies* (2017). He won a nomination for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for this role. He was given more Emmy Award nominations for making the Netflix series *When They See Us* (2019). He also had an Emmy Award nomination for being Robert Mueller on *Saturday Night Live*.

De Niro and Jane Rosenthal founded TriBeCa Productions in 1989. This company has made many movies. De Niro and Rosenthal also founded the Tribeca Film Festival in 2002.

Many of De Niro's movies are thought to be classics in America. 6 of his movies are in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. These were put in the Library of Congress in 2023 for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". 5 of De Niro's movies were on the AFI's 100 greatest American films of all time.

## Early life

Robert Anthony De Niro was born on August 17, 1943, in Greenwich Village, New York City on August 17, 1943. He was the only son of his parents. His mother was Virginia Holton Admiral, a painter and poet. His father was Robert Henry De Niro, an abstract expressionist painter and sculptor. His father is half Irish and half Italian descent and His mother is of half German, with her other roots of English, French and Dutch descent.

## Personal life

### Family

De Niro with his wife Grace Hightower at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival
De Niro was first married to Diahnne Abbott. They have a son, Raphael, a former actor who works in New York real estate. De Niro also adopted Abbott's daughter from a previous relationship, Drena.

De Niro has twin sons, Julian Henry and Aaron Kendrik. They were delivered by a surrogate mother in 1995. His partner was a long-term live-in relationship with former model Toukie Smith.

In 1997, De Niro married actress Grace Hightower. Their son Elliot was born in 1998. The couple split in 1999. The divorce was never finalized and in 2004 they renewed their vows. In December 2011, they had a daughter, Helen Grace. She was born through a surrogate.

In addition to his six children De Niro has three grandchildren.

In 2003, it was said that De Niro had prostate cancer. He went on to make a full recovery.

## Awards and nominations

### Academy Award

* 47th Academy Awards (1974): Best Supporting Actor, **win**, for *The Godfather Part II*
* 49th Academy Awards (1976): Best Actor, nomination, for *Taxi Driver*
* 51st Academy Awards (1978): Best Actor, nomination, for *The Deer Hunter*
* 53rd Academy Awards (1980): Best Actor, **win**, for *Raging Bull*
* 63rd Academy Awards (1990): Best Actor, nomination, for *Awakenings*
* 64th Academy Awards (1991): Best Actor, nomination, for *Cape Fear*
* 85th Academy Awards (2012): Best Supporting Actor, nomination, for *Silver Linings Playbook*
* 92nd Academy Awards (2019): Best Picture, nomination, for *The Irishman*
* 96th Academy Awards (2023): Best Supporting Actor, nomination, for *Killers of the Flower Moon*

### BAFTA Award

* Nominated: Best Newcomer, *The Godfather Part II* (1976)
* Nominated: Best Actor, *Taxi Driver* (1977)
* Nominated: Best Actor, *The Deer Hunter* (1979)
* Nominated: Best Actor, *Raging Bull* (1982)
* Nominated: Best Actor, *The King of Comedy* (1984)
* Nominated: Best Actor, *Goodfellas* (1990)

* Baxter, John (2002). *De Niro: A Biography*. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780002571968.
* Brode, Douglas (1993). *The Films of Robert De Niro*. Carol Publishing Group. ISBN 0806513055.
* Deeley, Michael (2009). *Blade Runners, Deer Hunters, & Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: My Life in Cult Movies*. Pegasus Books. ISBN 9781605980386.
* Dougan, Andy (2003). *Untouchable: A Biography of Robert De Niro*. Da Capo Press. ISBN 1560254696.
* Mell, Eila (2015). *Casting Might-Have-Beens: A Film by Film Directory of Actors Considered for Roles Given to Others*. McFarland. ISBN 9781476609768.
* Levy, Shawn (2014). *De Niro: A Life*. Crown. ISBN 9780307716804.
* Naremore, James (1988). *Acting in the Cinema*. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520062283.
* Rausch, Andrew J. (2010). *The Films of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro*. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810874145.
* Santelli, R.; Santelli, J. (2010). *The Baseball Fan's Bucket List: 162 Things You Must Do, See, Get, and Experience Before You Die*. Hachette. ISBN 9780762440313.

## Other websites

* Tribeca Film
* Robert De Niro at *Playbill* Vault
* Robert De Niro at Rotten Tomatoes
* Robert De Niro on IMDb
* Robert De Niro at the Internet Broadway Database
* Appearances on C-SPAN