﻿Seventy-nine-year-old Robert De Niro has just become a father to his seventh child. Naturally,
this sudden announcement caught everyone's attention. Since his first marriage back
in the '70s, the actor has fathered six children with three different women. Now,
there was just one question on everyone's lips. Who is the mother of baby number seven?
While promoting the upcoming comedy film, 'About My Father,' the actor
shared that he'd had a new addition to his family. During an interview, De Niro was
asked about his six children, to which he corrected the interviewer, saying,
"Seven, actually. I just had a baby." At first, he didn’t give many details about
the baby or the mother. However, the actor later confirmed that he and Tiffany Chen, welcomed a
baby girl. They named her Gia Virginia Chen-De Niro. The birth of their first child together
also confirmed the long-standing rumors of their romance that started a couple of years ago.
The actor was first linked with Chen, a martial arts trainer, in August 2021. The duo sparked
romance rumors when they were spotted holding hands while vacationing in the South of France.
They were later spotted kissing on a boat, making it clear that they were more than just friends.
It's possible that Robert and Tiffany initially met on the set of the film,
'The Intern,' back in 2015. Chen played a Tai Chi instructor who helped De Niro's character
in the movie. However, at that time, he was still married to his second wife, Grace Hightower.
It wasn't until 2018 that De Niro and Hightower filed for divorce after an incredibly tumultuous
marriage that spanned over two decades - Don't worry, we'll get into all those
details a little later - The pair also share two children, Elliot and Helen.
Although it's not clear how De Niro and Tiffany crossed paths again after his divorce,
we do know that they quickly started spending a lot of time together. The budding couple
went on numerous vacations to Europe and enjoyed many romantic dinners together.
Despite all their outings and obvious affection for one another,
neither De Niro nor Chen commented publicly about the status of their relationship.
But the questions surrounding their romance have all been
answered following the birth of baby Gia. And though the news of the actor expanding
his brood may have been a shock to fans, De Niro shared that he was not
surprised to become a dad again. In fact, he admitted that her pregnancy was "planned."
"How could you not plan that kind of thing?" He said.
When the actor was asked how he felt about becoming a father for the seventh time,
he responded, "I'm ok with it. I'm good with it." Although he admitted that becoming
a parent "never gets easier." De Niro shared that as a parent,
he always wanted "to do the right thing by the children and give them the benefit of
the doubt," but it wasn't always that easy. The actor's journey to fatherhood wasn't all
smooth sailing. Robert has always been fairly private about his personal life, although his
numerous love affairs were no secret. During his prime, De Niro was described as handsome,
mysterious, alluring, and a complete womanizer. It wasn't long before he became notorious for
chasing down and breaking the hearts of several women. Over the years,
the actor has fathered seven children with four different women. He and his first wife,
Diahnne Abbott, married in 1976 after meeting on the set of the film, 'Taxi Driver.'
Abbott had a daughter, Drena, from a previous relationship, and De Niro legally adopted her.
Not long after their wedding, Diahnne gave birth to their son, Raphael.
To the public, it seemed as though the actor had put his womanizing days behind
him. He was now a husband and a father of two. Unfortunately, behind closed doors,
this could not have been further from the truth. It was alleged that De Niro was involved
with other women throughout his marriage. In 1980, Robert was driving his convertible
when he saw a beautiful woman in the car next to him. Her name was Helena Springs, and she was an
aspiring singer. The actor had to find some way to grab her attention, so he started following her
car. Naturally, Helena was not impressed. "I'd go fast; he'd go fast. I'd slow down;
he'd slow down. This asshole kept following me. I didn't even know him." The singer confessed.
Finally, Robert put his hands in a praying position and said, "Pull over." So she did,
and he invited her to lunch. It was alleged that they went out to eat, and — despite the fact that
the actor was still married to Diahnne — he and Helena hooked up that same day.
The pair couldn't get enough of each other and continued with their secret, steamy affair.
The singer soon fell pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl named Nina in 1982.
Robert reportedly gave her $50,000 to help with the baby and even assisted her in setting
up the nursery. Even after the scandal of an adulterous love child, De Niro, and Diahnne
still remained together. However, it wasn't long before he became fixated on another woman.
During a visit to Mr. Chow's restaurant in London, he met a waitress by the name of Grace Hightower.
Grace had always been hesitant to dish out any details on what happened between them when they
first met. However, she did choose to share, "It was an ease-in. It wasn't a whirlwind."
Robert and Diahnne eventually separated sometime around 1987, but what may surprise you is that
their split had nothing to do with infidelity. A source close to the former couple shared that
Diahnne wanted to live the celebrity lifestyle in the spotlight, and he didn't. He had always
wanted to keep his life out of the tabloids as much as possible. So, they agreed to part ways,
although they remained legally married. In the meantime, the actor didn't make any
effort to slow down his playboy ways. Grace was in London, and their causal relationship continued.
In 1992, Helena Springs came back into the picture when she demanded that Robert increase his child
support payments for their daughter, Nina. This time, however, De Niro insisted on
getting a paternity test, and the results concluded that after all these years,
he wasn't the father of Helena's daughter. The actor immediately cut off all contact
and financial assistance with the singer. It wasn't long before I laid eyes on another
woman, actress Touki Smith. De Niro and Smith dated for a few years. During that time,
they welcomed twin boys Aaron and Julian in 1995. The pair eventually split the following year.
Just two years later, Robert decided to take things with his London lover, Grace,
to the next level. The two married in their hometown in New York in 1997. That fall,
it was revealed that the newlyweds were pregnant with their first child together, and in March
1998, they welcomed their son, Elliot. Shockingly, it was only a year after
their son was born that De Niro filed for divorce from Hightower. They did
their best to amicably co-parent Elliot for more than a year until 2001, when a custody
battle suddenly blew up out of nowhere. Grace accused Robert of getting intimate
with another woman. She also claimed that he was a heavy drinker and dabbled in substance abuse.
The actor adamantly denied all of the accusations and alleged Hightower had a violent temper.
Despite the negative statements by both parties, the couple never went through with the divorce.
Instead, they chose to renew their vows in 2004. In December 2011, Robert and Grace welcomed
their second child, a baby girl named Helen, who was conceived via surrogate.
By that time, the actor was officially the father of six children by three different women.
After two decades of marriage - and many ups and downs - things eventually fizzled out between
the couple. They were last seen together on the red carpet in June 2018. Just five months later,
a family source confirmed that the two had separated and filed for divorce.
What followed was a nasty legal battle over the actor's money, with Grace demanding half
of his $500 million fortune. The former couple also fought over custody of their daughter.
Thankfully, Robert wasn't going to let his messy split from Grace interfere with him
finding love once more with Tiffany Chen. It may be unconventional for someone to
become a father in their late seventies, but De Niro has never been the conventional kind
of guy. Throughout his life, he's played many iconic parts, but the most important one is his
role as a father. He has always encouraged his children to reach for their dreams.
"For my kids, I tell them, 'If you want to be an actor or you want to do this or that,
that's fine as long as you're happy. Just don't sell yourself short.' That's the most
I would say — push yourself a little more and reach for what you really think it is
you want to do. Don't be afraid." The actor added, "It's important
for them to find their own lane." As for his kids, his eldest, Drena, is
now fifty-two years old. Not only has she followed in Robert's acting footsteps over the years – with
movies like "Great Expectations" and "Joy" – but she has also worked as a model and a DJ.
His second born, forty-six-year-old Raphael, didn't pursue a career in Hollywood. Instead,
he works as a real estate agent broker and has helped many A-listers find their dream homes.
Twenty-seven-year-old twins, Aaron and Julian, chose two very different paths for themselves.
Aaron has remained out of the spotlight, so there is very little known about his personal life.
On the other hand, Julian followed in his father's footsteps and became
an actor. He made his film debut in the 2016 movie "In Dubious Battle"
and played a young Barack Obama in the series "First Lady" in 2022.
Elliot, now twenty-five years old, is best known for his accomplishments as a tennis player in
the Special Olympics. De Niro had previously shared Elliot's autism diagnosis in 2016.
As for eleven-year-old Helen, Robert has done his best to keep her out of the spotlight.
There's no doubt that Rober's love life seems to resemble that of a soap opera. Although it's
unfortunate that many hearts were broken on his journey to find 'the one,' perhaps
Tiffany will be the woman who changes things for him. We couldn't be happier for the couple
and their brand-new bundle of joy. We wish them nothing but the best for their future.