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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
Scarlett O'Toole

Meet Robert De Niro's blended family as grandson Leandro De Niro Rodriguez dies aged 19

Robert De Niro 's grandson Leandro De Niro Rodriguez has sadly died at the age of 19 just months after the actor welcomed his seventh child.

De Niro's daughter Drena De Niro shared the devastating news on Instagram as she posted a picture of her son. Paying tribute to Leandro, Drena said he was her "beautiful sweet angel".

The 51-year-old also said she would "go on and spread the love and light that you so made me feel."

Leandro's cause of death is yet to be revealed.

Leandro's death comes just three months after his grandfather welcomed his seventh child.

Robert welcomed his youngest child, Gia, with his partner Tiffany Chen on April 6, 2023, with Robert said to be "over the moon" at her birth.

Here, we take a look at the Robert's blended family.

Drena De Niro

Drena De Niro is the adopted daughter of Robert De Niro (WireImage)
She announced her son's death on Instagram (Instagram/@drenadeniro)

Robert De Niro and Diahnne Abbott tied the knot in 1976, with the Goodfellas star then adopting Diahnne's daughter from a previous relationship.

Drena De Niro, who was born in 1971, then took her father's surname.

The 51-year-old worked as a model and a DJ before turning her hand to acting, starring in films such as Great Expectations and A Star is Born.

Drena also created the production company Daredevil Films and Television.

In 2004, she gave birth to her son Leandro De Niro Rodriguez with her then-boyfriend Carlos Rodriguez.

Leandro followed in his famous family's footsteps before his untimely death, with roles in A Star is Born and Cabaret Maxime.

Raphael De Niro

Raphael De Niro is the son of Diahnne Abbott (GC Images)
Raphael and his sister Drena (Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

Robert and Diahnne welcomed their son Raphael De Niro just seven months after getting married.

He made a handful of on-screen appearances growing up, but ultimately decided not to follow in his father's acting footsteps.

Instead, the 46-year-old works as a real estate broker in New York and he's helped a number of A-list celebrities find their dream homes, including Renee Zellweger and Kelly Ripa.

Raphael married fellow broker Claudine De Matos in 2008 and the couple share three children together.

The pair eventually split and finalised their divorce in January 2020, with Raphael going on to marry stylist Hannah Carnes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aaron Kendrick De Niro

Robert shares his twins with Toukie Smith (Getty Images)

Robert found love with model Toukie Smith in 1988 after divorcing Diahnne.

The pair welcomed twin boys Aaron and Julian De Niro in October 1995, before splitting a year later.

Unlike his brother, Aaron has made the decision to stay out of the spotlight and does not have any public social media profiles.

Julian De Niro

Julian De Niro works as an actor (Getty Images)
Robert welcomed Julian in 1995 (Getty Images)

Julian has taken inspiration from his father and got his first acting break when he appeared in the 2016 film In Dubious Battle, starring alongside the likes of Selena Gomez and James Franco.

He also took up the role of a young Barack Obama in drama series The First Lady last year.

As well as working on his acting career, Julian also studied computer science and mathematics at New York University.

In 2018, he had a study published in The Washington Post which used an in-depth Twitter analysis to uncover "what people craved the most".

Elliot De Niro

Elliot De Niro was born in 1998 (Getty Images)
Robert shares his son with Grace Hightower (Getty Images for Tribeca Festiva)

Elliot De Niro is Robert's first child with his second wife Grace Hightower, who the actor married in June 1997.

Elliot was born a year after his mother and father tied the knot.

Robert shared his son's autism diagnosis in 2016 and said one of his passions is playing tennis.

Elliot is best known for his achievements as a tennis player in the Special Olympics.

Helen Grace De Niro

Helen Grace De Niro was born via surrogate (FilmMagic)
The former couple co-parent their daughter ((Credit too long, see caption))

Robert and Grace welcomed daughter Helen Grace De Niro via surrogate in 2011.

Robert and actress Grace first married in 1997 before splitting in 1999. They got back together and renewed their vows in 2004.

However, they parted ways for good when he filed for divorce in 2018.

The former couple have worked hard to try and keep the youngster out of the spotlight and have managed to put their differences aside in order to successfully co-parent.

Gia Virginia Chen-De Niro

Gia Virginia Chen-De Niro is Robert's seventh child (CBS / Twitter)
He shares her with girlfriend Tiffany Chen (Steven/AFF-USA/REX/Shutterstock)

Gia Virginia Chen-De Niro and was born on April 6 weighing eight pounds and six ounces.

Appearing on CBS Mornings, Robert said he and girlfriend Tiffany Chen were "over the moon" to have welcomed a child together.

The actor's friend Al Pacino also became a father again, with Robert saying they would get together for playdates.

During a recent interview with Extra at the Tribeca Festival, Robert was asked whether he would get together with Al and their "youngest kids" for playdates.

"Good question," the Oscar winner said before adding: "Floor play."

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