Robert De Niro
De Niro in 2015, photo by Prphotos
Place of Birth: Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S.
Date of Birth: August 17, 1943
Ethnicity: Italian (paternal grandfather), Irish, German, Dutch, small amounts of English, French Huguenot, Scottish, and Scots-Irish/Northern Irish
Robert De Niro is an American actor, director, and producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for The Godfather Part II (1974), and the Academy Award for Best Actor for Raging Bull (1980). His many other films include Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, 1900, The Deer Hunter, The King of Comedy, Once Upon a Time in America, Brazil, The Mission (1986), Midnight Run, Goodfellas, Awakenings, Cape Fear (1991), Night and the City, Mad Dog and Glory, This Boy’s Life, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Casino, Heat (1995), Wag the Dog, Jackie Brown, Analyze This, and its sequel; Meet the Parents, and its sequels; Godsend (2004), Shark Tale, Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, The Intern, Joker, The Irishman, The War with Grandpa, and Killers of the Flower Moon; and television’s The Wizard of Lies and Saturday Night Live. He directed the films A Bronx Tale and The Good Shepherd, both of which he also starred in. He co-founded film and television production company TriBeCa Productions, and later the Tribeca Film Festival in 2002. He is known as one of the greatest actors of all time.
Robert is the son of Virginia (Admiral), a painter and poet, and Robert De Niro, an abstract expressionist painter. His parents met in painting classes in Massachusetts. Robert was raised by his mother in Greenwich Village and Little Italy, Manhattan. Robert was secretly baptized Catholic by his paternal grandparents.
Robert has two children with his former partner, actress and model Toukie Smith; two children, actress Drena De Niro, whom Robert legally adopted, and actor and real estate broker Raphael De Niro, with his former wife, actress Diahnne Abbott; two children with his wife, actress Grace Hightower; and a daughter with his partner Tiffany Chen.
He has played an Italian-American character in several films, and is himself of one quarter Italian ancestry. His father was of half Italian and half Irish descent. His maternal grandfather was of Dutch, as well as English, French Huguenot, Irish, German, Scottish, and Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, ancestry, and his maternal grandmother was of German descent.
Robert has become an honorary Italian citizen. He has stated:
I probably identify more with my Italian side than with my other parts.
Robert’s paternal grandfather was Henry Martin De Niro (the son of Giovanni DiNiro/Di Niro and Angiolina/Angelina Mercurio). Henry was born in Ferrazzano, Province of Campobasso, Molise, Italy. Giovanni was the son of Carmine DiNiro/Di Niro and Francesca Notartomaso. Angiolina was the daughter of Luigi Mercurio and Rosanna/Rose Alaura.
Robert’s paternal grandmother was Helen M. O’Reilly (the daughter of Dennis Edward/Francis O’Reilly and Mary Burns). Helen was born in New York. Dennis and Mary were both born in New York, both of them to Irish immigrant parents. Dennis was the son of Edward O’Reilly and Margaret. Mary was the daughter of John Burns and Mary.
Robert’s maternal grandfather was Donald Admiral/Admiraal (the son of Nicholas Klaas Admiraal/Admiral and Virginia Moseby Holton). Donald was born in Illinois or Indiana. Nicholas was Dutch, born in Schoorl, North Holland, Netherlands, the son of Jacob Admiraal/Admiral and Neeltje/Nellie Bakker/Baker. Robert’s great-grandmother Virginia was born in Kentucky, the daughter of Nicholas Moseby/Mosby Holton and Lucy Ann Dupuy. She was from a family that had lived in the U.S. for many generations, and had English, French Huguenot, Irish, German, Dutch, Scottish, and Scots-Irish/Northern Irish ancestry. Lucy’s sister, Eliza Ann Dupuy (also known as Annie Young), was a littérateur, novelist, and short story writer; she was known as “the first woman of Mississippi to earn her living as a writer.”
Robert’s maternal grandmother was Alice Caroline Groman (the daughter of Gustave “August” Groman and Gesina Marie Beckmann/Beckman). Alice was born in Iowa. Gustave and Gesina were born in Indiana, both of them to German parents. Gesina was the daughter of Harm Christoph Beckmann and Elizabeth Margaretha Fink.
De Niro with wife Grace Hightower, 2010, Vonora/bigstock.com
Sources: Genealogy of Robert De Niro – http://www.geni.com
Pictures of Robert’s parents – http://www.findagrave.com
Genealogy of Robert De Niro (focusing on his father’s side) – http://geneasud.com
Robert’s father on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Video about the family of Robert’s paternal grandfather, Henry Martin De Niro – https://www.youtube.com
Genealogy of Robert’s maternal grandfather, Donald Admiral/Admiraal (focusing on his own mother’s side) – http://gw.geneanet.org
Robert’s maternal grandfather, Donald Admiral/Admiraal, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Biography of Robert’s maternal great-great-great-aunt, Eliza Ann Dupuy (Annie Young) – http://www.encyclopedia.com
Robert’s maternal grandmother, Alice Caroline Groman, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
To the AHEM! response to bianca beauty Are you mad that she feels so strongly about her race btw yeah im black
Ive noticed that Italian-Americans treat race just like African-Americans do, i guess thats why us Black women get along with Italian men so much…well thats probably one reason, the other reason is cuz them italians are sexy as hell! if i ever married me a white boy it’d be an italian.
But back to what i was saying, ive noticed that they treat race like us black folk, to most Italian-Americans it doesn’t matter if they are German, Irish or some other white ethnic group they ALWAYS show love to their italian side. They always identify with being Italian and they also have a strong emphasize on Family.
And when it all balls down i guess thats why Italians are really the only white folk who appeal to us minorities the most because they don’t have the same mindset and most of the other American white groups. Love yall italians! keep lookin good, keep comin with the great actors!
LOL, you talk alot of shit. Anyway, De Niro has very little Italian in him.
Did you have some sort of point? Robert De Niro IS Italian, and he identifies with his Italian side more than his other sides, John Travolta is also mixed, So is Frank Sinatra but every single one of them considers themselves Italians because not only are they culturaly closer to their Italian side but they LOOK like the Italian side more than any of them, Robert looks Italian, John looks Italian, Al looks Italian, Frank looks italian. Who are you to take their heritage away from them when its clear that is what they want to be called and associated with? SMH
I’m pretty sure Sinatra was 100% Italian, tho he wasn’t particuarly ethnic looking. Neither is Travolta and hes actually said he identifies more with his Irish roots.
false travolta consider himself more italian than any other roots
he played a tony manero italian and not irish in saturday night fever and all the movies on the 80’s was about italian and not irish
also now he will be n the new movie gotti gotti is italian not irish lol
italian are not a race, so they wanna be italian because italy rules super cars fashion arts cuisine motorbikes architecture history sculpture invention music etc etc
go to check his real north italian people on youtube federica fontana ilary blasi giulia montanarini antonella clerici
now tell me if you really know how real italian looks like?
And the reason De Niro identifies with Italian more is because he grew up in Little Italy, around other Italians and most likely the Italian faction of his family. If he grew up in Pennsylvania Dutch Country for example he’d probably identify with his German roots more, and so on.
italian are not a race, so they wanna be italian because italy rules super cars fashion arts cuisine motorbikes architecture history sculpture invention music etc etc
go to check his real north italian people on youtube federica fontana ilary blasi giulia montanarini antonella clerici
now tell me if you really know how real italian looks like?
italian NOT a race? are you people NUTS?? you people are twisting his words! he’s joked about being serbian when he was in serbia “maybe i’m a serb”, and now this? dude he was just saying we (from southern europe) are heavily mixed! that none of us are a “pure” race, no – what “ethnicity” and “culture” is “pure” nowadays. but the guy is not albanian, no genealogist has ever traced his family to albania or found any “albanian roots”! his italian father (who yes is also part IRISH) came from southern italy, but not sicily! he was clearly talking about sicily’s – “the 2 sicily’s” how its been invaded countless times and how the place is heavily mixed. however his family does not even come from sicily. he has a greater chance of being croatian than he does of being albanian lol since his italian family come from MOLISE. thousands of people in that area still speak an old dialect of CROATIAN lol so what does that make him a croat? next thing you know people will start saying pacino is albanian lmao.
Italian is not a race, officially and every other which way. white, black and yellow are races. indians, hispanics, native americans are a combo of one or more of the three races. Italian is a nationality, italy has been conquered by people who are closely related to the indigenous Italic peoples of Italy, the only outsider invasions were from the Germanic people, the Visigoths, Lombards Vandals.and in modern times, the Austrians and southern Germans. if you consider Italy mixed, what does that say of the people who the Romans conquered? they have the blood of these so called “mixed” Romans mixed with their own indigenous peoples! Should we call the english, spanish, portuguese, spanish, belgians, southern germans etc.. super bastards! think before you talk. dont single out Italians as being mixed as something of a denigration unless you are willing to disparage all the other ethnic groups of Europe
COLOR IS NOT A RACE YOU STUPID FOOL! GET YOUR SELF A EDUCATION OR GO STICK IT IN THE SAND WERE YOU HAVE HAD IT FOR SO LONG ALREADY!
Bianca, one thing you failed to consider, it is not what they think they are it is what Italy considers them to be, in Italy, a person like me who has only italian ancestry going back to pre roman times is considered american because i was not born or raised in italy. by roman standards, those celebrities would not be considered italian because of their foreign blood. its doesnt go by american standards of race or sensibilities. italy created the system of race classification and the vast majority of the world follows italy’s example. thanks, though, for the nice words you said about us italians, at least you have more insight than most americans who are not italian
Most Italian Americans dont have any insight of this either! THEY’LL BE QUICK TO SAY THEY ARE ITALIAN NOT AMERICAN! And when black women go to Italy they are loved Im not talkin about american Italians Im talking about real Italians love a woman of color! Because it’s different then what they are use to!
ITALY DID NOT CREATE THE SYSTEM OF RACE CLASSIFICATION. YOU ARE A HYPOCRITE! FIRST YOU SAY ITALIAN IS NOT A RACE AND NOW YOU ARE SAYING IT IS. WHICH IS IT MR/MS COPY AND PASTE!
Since when is 1/4 “very little”? Most people are very mixed these days. A lot of people aren’t more than 1/4 ANYTHING. Like me, for instance. Does that mean that I’m not enough of anything to identify with any of my ancestry?
And he will hate your family
riiiiiiight..
The reports of Robert De Niro being Jewish are premature.
Yeah, De Niro Loves black women….but I like him as and AWESOME ACTOR.
that was a bit random …dont you think?
deniro loves black women. alot of italians do. theres a nickname for white guys that date black women and its a deniro. look it up