Robert De Niro's this daughter comes out as transgender

Robert De Niro's daughter opens up about her transgender identity and the challenges of growing up in the public eye.

Robert De Niro’s daughter, Airyn, in an interview with Them, opened up about being transgender.

Airyn De Niro discusses her transgender journey and the challenges of being Robert De Niro's daughter, emphasizing her desire for a normal childhood and individuality.(AP/Instagram/Airyn De Niro)

Airyn, one of De Niro’s seven children, is the daughter of actress Toukie Smith and twin sister to Julian. She has spent most of her life away from the spotlight.

“Obviously, no parent is perfect, but I am grateful that both my parents agreed to keep me out of the limelight,” she told Them. “They have told me they wanted me to have as much of a normal childhood as possible.”

Still, being Robert De Niro’s daughter comes with attention—much of it uninformed or presumptive. Following a recent misreporting, Airyn said, “They just sort of reminded me that people really don’t know anything about me.”

Airyn opens up about identity and body image

To some, Airyn may appear to be just another “nepo baby,” but “I wasn’t brought up having a side part in one of dad’s movies or going to business meetings or attending premieres. My dad was very big on us finding our own sort of path... I would want [success] to happen on my own merit.”

“I was always told I was too much of something or not enough of something growing up: Too big, not skinny enough. Not Black enough, not white enough. Too feminine, not masculine enough. It was never just, ‘You’re just right, just the way you are,’” she said.

Last November, she began hormone therapy—a choice inspired in part by her mother and “the influence Black women have had on me.”

“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,” Airyn said. “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.”

She is also studying to become a mental health counselor to support in marginalised communities. “People of color and queer people definitely need more mental health advocacy and support,” she said. “So I’m hoping I’m able to do that.”