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- Robert De Niro, age 79, welcomed a new baby in May 2023.
- His girlfriend, Tiffany Chen, gave birth to his seventh child.
- Tiffany Chen is a martial arts instructor who has dated De Niro since 2021.
Robert De Niro was in heaven on Tuesday (May 9) when he revealed that he had become a father for the seventh time. Robert, 79, and his girlfriend, Tiffany Chen, had been expecting, with his sweetheart showing off her baby bump during an April 2023 dinner date in Los Angeles. Tiffany and Robert met up with Billy Crystal and Harvey Keitel at L.A.’s Giorgio Baldi, but The Godfather Part II actor was mum on his incoming bundle of joy.
The child is Robert’s seventh. His first is Drena De Niro, 51, who he adopted while married to her mother, Diahnne Abbott. Robert and Diahnne also had a son, Raphael De Niro, 46, together. After finalizing his divorce from Diahnne in 1988, Robert began dating Toukie Smith. The couple had twin sons, Julian and Aaron De Niro, 27. In 1997, Robert married Grace Hightower. They welcomed their son, Elliot De Niro, 25, in 1998. They also welcomed their daughter, Helen, via surrogate in 2011.
As Robert prepares for diaper duty, here’s a look at Tiffany and his past relationships.
Tiffany Chen
Tiffany Chen has spent all her life involved in some sport or another. She took up ballet, Hula dancing, swimming, and gymnastics at age 5, according to a biography listed on the website for her father, Tai Chi great grandmaster William C.C. Chen. According to the 2016 biography, Tiffany started figuring skating when she was eight, and by age 11, she “won three gold medals in regional Figure Skating Competitions.” While taking ballroom dancing, she heard of how other dancers used Tai Chi to help their movements; she enrolled in his classes and “entered her first Push Hands competition at age 16, at the U.S.W.K.F. National Chinese Martial Arts Competition in Orlando, FL.”
According to the biography, she won 43 gold, four silver, and two bronze medals during her competitive martial arts career. The biography also includes photos of Tiffany instructing Robert, Anne Hathaway, and others on the set of 2015’s The Intern. This indicates that she and Robert knew each other for at least six years before they started their romance in 2021.
For the most part, Robert and Tiffany have kept their relationship out of the public eye. The couple went on vacation together in France in 2021, per Page Six, and Spain in 2022. Beyond that, they are shy of the spotlight.
“I never practiced tai chi with the intention of looking to fight,” Tiffany told Inside Kung Fu magazine in 2011. “I learned the form, I learned some push hands, and then, I started competing in push hands. .. I wasn’t being challenged in the push-hands arena anymore. It was time to step up the game, so I started doing my father’s sparring class. Still, I hadn’t intended to fight…until I did.”
Tiffany cites her parents as the biggest inspirations in her life. “My plan has always been to learn how to be as great as my father,” she told Inside Kung Fu. “My father is such an inspiration and has given back so much, working together with my mother at our tai chi school and through his teaching around the world. He is an amazing mentor and role model. … I surround myself with generous, beautiful people. Quality people are rarely surrounded by individuals who aren’t motivating factors or inspirational to them. Surrounding yourself with good people creates a symbiotic relationship that makes everyone’s quality of life go up exponentially.”
His Past Romances
Robert met singer and actress Diahnne Abbott on 1976’s Taxi Driver. Robert adopted Drena, Diahnne’s daughter from a previous marriage, and she gave birth to their son, Raphael, in 1976. Diahanne had a few more roles in the 1970s and ’80s, including a part in De Niro’s The King of Comedy. She mostly gave up acting in the 1990s but had a few roles in the early 2000s.
After Robert and Diahnne divorced in 1988, he was publicly involved with model Toukie Smith. The two welcomed their twin sons in 1995. “I love my children, just being with them,” Robert told Us Weekly in 2019. It’s not easy. Sometimes it’s fun, and you love your kids, and sometimes you want to kill them!”
After Robert and Toukie split in 1996, he began seeing actress Grace Hightower. They welcomed their son, Elliot, in 1998 and a daughter (via surrogate) in 2011. The couple first split in 1999 but reconciled soon after that. However, in 2018, they called it quits for good.
“Grace and I have two beautiful children together,” De Niro told Us Weekly in a statement. “We are entering a period of transition in our relationship, which is a difficult but constructive process. I honor Grace as a wonderful mother and ask for privacy and respect from all as we proceed to develop our roles as partners in parenting.”
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