Robert De Niro has shared his reaction after one of his seven children, Airyn, came out as transgender at 29 years old.
De Niro, 81, shares his kids with Diahnne Abbott, Toukie Smith, Grace Hightower and Tiffany Chen, having welcomed his newest addition to the family with Chen in April 2023.
Airyn came along in 1995, when she and her twin, Julian, were born while De Niro was in a relationship with Smith, who he split up with the following year.
Airyn has now come out as transgender in an interview with Them, revealing that she struggled to fit into ‘beauty standards’ and was always told she was ‘too much of something or not enough of something’ while growing up.
Airyn De Niro said she was inspired by other trans women speaking out (Instagram/voiceofairyn)
Then, after she saw other trans women opening up about their transitions, Airyn began undergoing hormone therapy in November.
She explained: “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 did express concerns that her family would ‘maybe still think of [her] as the person [she] was before the transition’, and now in the wake of Airyn’s announcement, De Niro spoke to People about his reaction.
The actor made clear that his feelings about Airyn have not changed at all as he said he had always ‘loved and supported’ his child, adding: “I love and support Airyn as my daughter. I don’t know what the big deal is. I love all my children.”
In her interview, Airyn praised her parents for keeping her ‘out of the limelight’, explaining that they wanted her childhood to be ‘very private’.
Robert De Niro shares his twins with Toukie Smith (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
“They have told me they wanted me to have as much of a normal childhood as possible,” she said.
Still, as the daughter of one of the best-known actors in Hollywood, Airyn did receive attention.
She said: “There’s a difference between being visible and being seen, I’ve been visible. I don’t think I’ve been seen yet.”
Moving forward, Airyn is now studying to become a mental health counselor and is keen to make success happen ‘on [her] own merit’, with her dad being keen on his kids ‘finding [their] own sort of path’.
Airyn also hopes to be an inspiration for other people who might be struggling with their identity, saying: “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.”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT national hotline at 888-843-4564, available Monday to Friday 4pm-12am ET and 12pm-5pm ET on Saturdays.
