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
lol if most people would trace there family back they’d find alot of information on who is who i have family in italy if you go to northern italy they look more german french oh and did i mention italians have blue eyes even blonde hair and are fair skin too lol its funny you all wanna say italians identify as this and that by the way latin is a language not a race so because you are latin you call yourself italian no no wrong centries ago italians spoke there own language check history it was etruscan i might have spelt that wrong sicilians are more darker do to moores norman arab blood so check that too in reality italians wil land have always identify as white (Caucasian) its the younger generation who are mixed and think italians are black or latin get it right people there not now i can see if your italian and black or italian and latino they yea your half of eachother white and latin but then again latins i see for the most part look white to me the ones from say brazil argentina and spain is also a european country spanish people are whit just because you speak spanish does not mean you are spanish mexicans are more native then spanish anyways when you read online i say take it with a grain of salt dont believe everything you read last but not least i think in reality everyone outta be treated the same if your caucasian black asian chinese whatever your all gods children enough said (CIAO)
michael italians are latin with your last name its a shame that you dont know about your own background
Wrong Rafael Latin Is A Language Not A Race Do Your History And Im Very Well Of My Ancestry Traced Mine Back To The Early 1500’S lol And Went to School And Became A Genealogist And Have Been For The Last 15 Years I’m Sorry With A Name Like Rafael Thats Spanish Isent It Witch Would Be A Latin Name And For All Who Think The Blacks Invaded Sicily well According To New Study’s They Only Left About 5% Of The Genes On Sicilians. Normans And Arabs And Greeks Settled What Is Known As Sicilia Big Diffrence Between Northern And Southerns And Remember Sicilians Arnt Italian Duh This Is Why They Call Them Sicilians Not Italian Fyi Rafael I Also Have Spanish Ancestors From Galicia And Castilian Bet You Didnt Know That Irish People And Spanish PeopleShare The Same DNA According To New Studys The Irish Are Orig From Spain Check It Out For Yourself http://killarney-ireland.info/genealogy/dark-irish-celt-genealogy.html Try Reading ThIS!
To Michael
No offense,but if they left 5%,then that means they were in Sicily,and not to long ago if it’s still 5%.Now I assuming this is the avg Sicilian tested?This fits right into Europe’s avg black blood % of 3-8,with some places being reported as high as 20%.I know this is going to tick some of you off,so if you respond be polite
these reports were written by known anti Italian racists, the real studies showed these Italians that had Black ancestry were not “Italian” but “Italian citizens” and only a minute number of italy’s inhabitants displayed these exception(results of ancient rapes of Italian inhabitants by Middle and Near Easterners who mixed with the mulatto berber population. these genes actually were higher in the English and Northern Italy than Southern Italy(including Sicily), proving that Southern Italians were more patriotic in resisting integration with non whites than northern regions. It is a widely held belief by anthropologists that the first Italians were the Siculians, Sicanian and Elmyrians of Sicily who fought against Greek colonization for 10 years before succumbing to them eventually.
Michael, Latin is a language base that was derived from Rome. Italians are Latin. It is not a race and has nothing to do with race whatsoever.
Please use punctuation next time, though. Your comments are hard to read without it.
michael, everyone that speaks a latin language,evolved from rome,thats makes us all the same people,because we have the same origin,as for the irish and the spanish i did know that, the black irish term comes from dark haired irish with spanish blood
Why does it matter so much italians sicilians are white PERIOD. WHAT ARE YOU GETTIN AT?
sicilians are the original italians, its only because of the mafia did the mainland try to distinguish the sicilians from the rest of italy. now mainland italy has more mobsters than sicily ever had. ha ha
There u go talk shyt again just shut the fuck up
you are spot on, im italian too my fathers side was blonde blue eyed, my mothers side is red headed
de niro is half australian. and half italian!
NEVER !!!
He said before 3 days in Sanremo festival in Italy that he has a ALBANIAN and ITALIAN blood. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx-9KUyH3q8&feature=player_embedded
he is Arberesh so he is nominally Italian and his lifestyle is not typical of Italian Americans nor Italians anywhere for that matter. he is considered a great actor among the Italian community but at the same time and oddball.
who cares what he says anymore
It will be sad that a figure like De Niro could step on his genetic albanian origin!!! But again if someone does not want some part of his background that does not change his genetic mixture.
I hope he clarify this issue for him self and for the world. Since the Sanremo, I see that someone took out from De niro jr. and De Niro Sr. the word Albanian in their Wikipedia info. So sad to be so Racial!!
You can see the Albanian genetic features engraved on De Niro’s face very clear. For me is not hard to read that but for the World?
clearly we must rely on deniro for genealogy because he is an accomplished historian. he doesnt even know what the hell he is and is more confused about his own heritage than Tiger Woods
I think he is partially Albanian