Robert De Niro welcomes seventh child at 79
Hollywood star Robert De Niro has revealed that he is now the proud father of seven.
The Academy-award winning actor was on a promotional run for his new film, About My Father, and chatting to ET Canada when he made the unexpected announcement.
Reporter Brittnee Blair laid the groundwork when she mentioned that she knew De Niro had six kids.
“Seven, actually,” he corrected her. “I just had a baby.”
De Niro shares his eldest children - 51-year-old Drena and 46-year-old Raphael - with his first wife, Diahnne Abbott. He then welcomed twins Julian and Aaron - who are 27 - with then-girlfriend Toukie Smith, before having 24-year-old Elliot and 11-year-old Helen Grace with ex-wife Grace Hightower.
ET Canada confirmed the news of De Niro’s seventh addition with the actor’s representatives, although they weren’t able to dig up any more information on who the new baby’s mother might be.
Many have speculated, however, that he shares his latest addition with his girlfriend, Tiffany Chen. She drew attention as recently as March 2023, sparking rumours when she was spotted leaving a restaurant in California, with what some suspected to be a visible baby bump.
De Niro and Chen first crossed paths on the set of the 2015 film The Intern, and have reportedly been together since 2021.
And while seventh time may be the charm, De Niro is the first to note that even with so much practice under his belt, he still doesn’t consider himself to be a “cool dad”.
“I’m okay,” he said to Blair. “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.”
He also took the time to tell her he believes very much in “being loving” with his children, though he knew the time and place for being “stern about stuff”.
As he put it, “there’s no way around it with kids. 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.”
Images: Getty