Robert De Niro

American actor, director and producer (born 1943)

Robert Anthony De Niro (/də ˈnɪər/ 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.[a] De Niro has been given many awards. He was won 2Academy 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.

Robert De Niro
De Niro in 2016
Born
Robert Anthony De Niro

(1943-08-17) August 17, 1943 (age 81)
Citizenship
  • United States
  • Italy
Occupations
  • Actor
  • film producer
Years active1963–present
Works
Spouses
  • (m. 1976; div. 1988)
  • (m. 1997; sep. 2018)
Children7, including Drena and Raphael
Parents
AwardsFull list

His most famous movies were Mean Streets (1973), The Godfather: Part II (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), The Deer Hunter (1978), Raging Bull (1980) Casino (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.[6]

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".[7] 5 of De Niro's movies were on the AFI's 100 greatest American films of all time.

Early life

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Robert Anthony De Niro[8] was born on August 17, 1943, in Greenwich Village,[9] New York City on August 17, 1943.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12]

Personal life

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Family

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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.[13] 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.[14][15]

In 1997, De Niro married actress Grace Hightower.[16] Their son Elliot was born in 1998. The couple split in 1999. The divorce was never finalized and in 2004 they renewed their vows.[16] In December 2011, they had a daughter, Helen Grace. She was born through a surrogate.[17][18]

In addition to his six children De Niro has three grandchildren.[19][20][21]

In 2003, it was said that De Niro had prostate cancer. He went on to make a full recovery.[22]

Awards and nominations

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Academy Award

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BAFTA Award

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  1. According to many references:[1][2][3][4][5]

References

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  1. Saval, Malina (January 3, 2020). "Martin Scorsese Hails Robert De Niro as 'Greatest Actor of His Generation' at Variety Creative Impact Awards". Variety. Archived from the original on January 23, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  2. Baron, Zach (November 20, 2019). "Robert De Niro and Al Pacino: A Big, Beautiful 50-Year Friendship". GQ. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  3. Pulver, Andrew (November 1, 2019). "Robert De Niro and Al Pacino: 'We're not doing this ever again'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on February 23, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  4. Wells, Jonathan. "The best actors of all time, from Robert De Niro to Daniel Day Lewis". The Gentleman's Journal. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  5. Naughton, John (June 30, 2020). "Robert De Niro is the greatest actor of his generation". British GQ. Archived from the original on October 27, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  6. "Robert De Niro nominated for Emmy for 'SNL' role playing Robert Mueller". The Hill. July 16, 2019. Archived from the original on January 1, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  7. "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  8. Levy 2014, p. 18.
  9. Stated on Inside the Actors Studio, 1998
  10. "Robert de Niro". Encyclopædia Britannica. May 10, 2023. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  11. "Robert De Niro Biography (1943–)". filmreference.com. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  12. Levy 2014, p. 2.
  13. "New York Real Estate – Prudential Douglas Elliman". Elliman.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2007. Retrieved January 9, 2011.
  14. "Robert De Niro & Wife Welcome Baby Girl". People. December 23, 2011. Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  15. "Toukie Smith and actor Robert De Niro become parents of twins". Jet. October 20, 1995. p. 36. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  16. 16.0 16.1 "Drug allegations hit De Niro custody battle" July, 26 2001. The Guardian
  17. "Robert De Niro & Wife Welcome Baby Girl". People. December 23, 2011. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  18. "Robert De Niro and wife welcome a child via surrogate". Daily Mail. London. December 24, 2011. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  19. "De Niro welcomes another grandchild". Archived from the original on 2011-09-14. Retrieved 2012-08-31.
  20. Drena De Niro expecting child 2003
  21. De Niro's daughter on him as a father and grandfather
  22. "De Niro has prostate cancer". BBC News. October 21, 2003. Retrieved January 9, 2011.

Sources

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  • 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

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