Robert De Niro recently opened up about something personal. One of his kids, Airyn, came out as transgender at age 29.
The actor, now 81, has seven children with different partners, including Diahnne Abbott, Toukie Smith, Grace Hightower, and more recently, Tiffany Chen.
His youngest child, with Chen, arrived in April 2023.
Airyn was born back in 1995, along with her twin brother, Julian. At the time, De Niro was with Smith, though the relationship ended a year later.
Airyn opens up about lifelong struggles with identity
In a recent chat with Them, Airyn shared that growing up wasn’t easy when it came to how she saw herself.
Fitting into what people expected, especially when it came to beauty, was a constant challenge.
She said she always heard she was either “too much of something or not enough of something,” and that kind of pressure stuck with her.
Inspiration from others helped her take the first steps
It wasn’t until she saw other trans women sharing their stories online that things started to shift for her. That kind of openness gave her the push she needed.
She said: “Trans women being honest and open, especially [in] public spaces like social media and getting to see them in their success… I’m like, you know what? Maybe it’s not too late for me. Maybe I can start.”
Airyn eventually began hormone therapy in November.
She feared how her family would see her after transitioning
Even with all that personal growth, she still had some worries about how her family would handle it.
She mentioned that they might “maybe still think of [her] as the person [she] was before the transition.”
Robert De Niro gives a heartfelt and supportive response
After Airyn went public with her story, De Niro spoke to People and shared how he felt.
And his response? Nothing but love and support.
He made it clear that nothing had changed in how he sees his child. “I love and support Airyn as my daughter. I don’t know what the big deal is. I love all my children.”
Her parents protected her from the public eye during childhood
Growing up with famous parents, especially one of the biggest names in Hollywood, could’ve easily thrown her into the spotlight.
But her folks made sure to shield her as much as they could.
“They have told me they wanted me to have as much of a normal childhood as possible,” she said.
But being De Niro’s daughter still meant public attention
Even with all that effort to stay private, she still got noticed now and then. It kinda came with the territory.
“There’s a difference between being visible and being seen, I’ve been visible. I don’t think I’ve been seen yet,” she said.
Airyn is now building her own future with purpose
These days, Airyn’s focused on something close to her heart — she’s studying to become a mental health counselor.
She’s also working toward building her own success, not one tied to her dad’s fame.
De Niro himself has always encouraged his kids to “find [their] own sort of path,” and that’s exactly what she’s doing.
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She hopes to inspire others who feel unseen
On top of all that, Airyn’s hoping that by sharing her story, someone else out there might feel less alone.
“I’d want to hopefully be an inspiration for at least one other person like me who is Black, who is queer, who’s not a size extra small.
“I’d want to see more trans women, more Black women who are maybe bigger-bodied or don’t fit the mold of super thin or heroin chic.”
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