Robert De Niro’s daughter Airyn has given her first interview, officially coming out publicly as a trans woman, and talking about navigating her journey in the public eye while trying to remain private.
The 29-year-old was born to the Taxi Driver and Alto Knights star, 81, and model Toukie Smith, 72, via a surrogate and alongside her twin brother Julian in October 1995.
An aspiring actress herself – although one who has forged her own path and avoided using her father’s extensive contacts as a Hollywood legend – Airyn spoke with Ava Pauline Emilione for Them, a leading LGBTQ+ outlet.
Previously snapped with her long pink hair while visiting her dad at the Greenwich Hotel in New York, she now reveals that she booked her first appointment at a Black salon after being inspired by Halle Bailey’s locs in Disney’s 2023 live-action version of The Little Mermaid.
She has been left ‘surprised’ by the sudden media attention after living away from the glare of the spotlight.
‘Obviously no parent is perfect, but I am grateful that both my parents agreed to keep me out of the limelight. They wanted it very private. They have told me they wanted me to have as much of a normal childhood as possible,’ she told the outlet.
While Airyn has been ‘femme-presenting since middle school’ and initially came out as a gay man in high school, she made the decision to begin hormone therapy in November 2024 so she could maintain her femininity as she got older – ‘Who wants to be an old man?’ she asks.
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‘There’s a difference between being visible and being seen,’ Airyn added to Them of making her gender identity public. ‘I’ve been visible. I don’t think I’ve been seen yet.’
She revealed she’s been inspired by seeing other people being ‘honest and open, especially [in] public spaces like social media and getting to see them in their success’, which made her realise that ‘maybe it’s not too late for me’.
Airyn also spoke about the importance of specifically embracing Black femininity, and the influence Black women have had on her, during her transition.
‘I think stepping into this new identity, while also being more proud of my Blackness, makes me feel closer to them in some way.’
She is also training to be a mental health counsellor, which she juggles with auditions for on-screen and voice-only roles – which included the role of Jules in Euphoria that ultimately went to Hunter Schafer.
Airyn also said she’s been ‘ghosted or rejected by most casting directors’ as she forges her own way in Hollywood, separate to that of her father and mother.
‘I wasn’t brought up having a side part in one of dad’s movies or going to business meetings or attending premieres. My dad was very big on us finding our own sort of path. I would want [success] to happen on my own merit,’ she shared.
Alongside Airyn and Julian, two-time Oscar-winner De Niro has five other children.
With his ex-wife Dihanne Abbott, whom he divorced in 1988, the pair share son Raphael, while the acting icon also adopted Abbott’s daughter Drena from a previous relationship.
In 1997, he married second wife Grace Hightower, separating after 20 years of marriage in 2018.
He and Grace share son Elliot and daughter Helen, while De Niro has since gone on to welcome his seventh child, daughter Gia, at the age of 79 in April 2023 with girlfriend Tiffany Chen, who is in her 40s.
De Niro is also a grandfather of four through his two oldest children, although the family suffered a tragic loss with the death of his grandson Leandro De Niro Rodriguez aged 19 in July 2023.
His cause of death was later confirmed as a drug overdose.
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