Fountain of youth and “pure joy”: For Robert De Niro, his daughter Gia, who recently turned one year old, is the greatest gift.
Exceptional actor Robert De Niro (80) couldn’t be happier these days. His declared nemesis Donald Trump (77) has just been found guilty by a US court in a hush money scandal – and before that, his daughter Gia’s first birthday was also approaching. The two-time Oscar winner gave rare insights into the private lives of his family friends and revealed how his little daughter enriches his life.
When asked about Gia, he described her as “pure joy” and went on to say how wonderful it is when a young child can still be “free of prejudice and just be themselves”. Despite his almost 81 years on this earth and his six other children, he can still learn a lot from her, he added. He owes his little fountain of youth the motivation to “stay active in all areas” himself.
And because he is not a particularly good golfer, he has no intention of turning his back on acting any time soon. The proof: In 2024 alone, he will be seen in two major productions, even in a double role in Barry Levinson’s “Wise Guys”.
Large patchwork family
There is an age difference of over 50 years between De Niro’s first child and Gia. His marriage to Diahnne Abbott (79) produced daughter Drena (52) and son Raphael (47); with his ex-girlfriend Toukie Smith (71) he has twins Aaron and Julian (28) as well as son Elliott (25) and daughter Helen (11) with ex-wife Grace Hightower (68). Gia’s mother is De Niro’s current partner Tiffany Chen; the two are said to have met on a film set in 2015 and have been in a relationship since 2021.
The large patchwork family had to cope with a serious blow of fate last year: De Niro’s grandson Leandro Rodriguez, the only child of his eldest daughter Drena, died of an overdose at the age of just 19. He remembered what was going on inside him at the time. At first he couldn’t believe the news when he was told it: “It was a shock, I never thought something like that could happen.” After that he understood even more how important it is to spend a lot of time with your loved ones.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
