Robert De Niro's Life in Photos

Best known for his nine collaborations with Martin Scorsese and his work in gangster classics like The Godfather and Taxi Driver, Robert De Niro is regarded as one of the best actors of all time. Take a look back at his renowned career spanning more than five decades

Robert De Niro turns 80 on Aug. 17, 2023, but it seems he's lived many lives in his decades on Earth.

A celebrated actor who is credited with creating the Tribeca Film Festival in N.Y.C., De Niro has two Oscars to his name in addition to the endless accolades he's received for his work. Additionally, he's a father of seven and a grandfather, as well.

Here, on his milestone birthday, take a look at his life and career in photos.

Robert De Niro's Early Life

A New York City native, Robert De Niro was born on Aug. 17 to two Greenwich Village artists in 1943. In pursuit of acting at a young age, De Niro dropped out of school at 16 years old to study at the Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting.

Robert De Niro's Breakout Role

De Niro was cast in several minor films and theater productions in the late 1960s into the early 1970s, but his first substantial role was in Brian De Palma's Greetings in 1968.

Soon after, De Niro gained further recognition with his baseball player role in John D. Hancock's Bang the Drum Slowly, a sports drama film based on the Mark Harris novel of the same name.

Robert De Niro's First Collaboration with Martin Scorsese

De Niro's longtime relationship with Martin Scorsese dates back to 1973 when he was cast as "Johnny Boy" in Mean Streets.

Marking the first of his nine notable collaborations with the esteemed director, the American crime film set the tone for the four decades-worth of award-winning work that followed.

Robert De Niro's Role in 'The Godfather Part II'

It wasn't until De Niro was cast in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part II that he attained mega stardom. He played the infamous role of young Vito Corleone in the film adaptation of Mario Puzo's 1969 novel of the same name.

Robert De Niro's Academy Award Wins

De Niro's portrayal of Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II earned him his first Academy Award win for Best Supporting Actor in 1975. This marked the first of two Oscar wins for the actor, and also the first of many award victories over the course of his acclaimed career.

As for the film itself, The Godfather Part II earned 11 Academy Award nominations that year, winning six including Best Picture and Best Director.

Robert De Niro's Role in 'Taxi Driver'

De Niro reunited with Scorsese for Taxi Driver in 1976, playing war veteran Travis Bickle opposite Jodie Foster and Cybill Shepherd. Regarded as one the most transformative roles in his career, De Niro's portrayal earned him his first Best Actor nomination at the 49th Academy Awards.

Robert De Niro's Role in 'Raging Bull'

De Niro saw much success at the end of the 1970s, wrapping up the decade with The Deer Hunter — a Vietnam War drama in which he played a soldier, earning him his second Best Actor Oscar nod in 1978.

In 1980, he turned heads once again when he teamed up with Scorsese in Raging Bull. De Niro's portrayal of middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta in the biographical drama earned him his first Oscar win in the Best Actor category.

He also nabbed a Golden Globe award in the best actor category, his first and only Golden Globe win of his eight nominations. In 2011, he was honored with the Hollywood Foreign Press' Cecil B. DeMille Award for his work over the course of his illustrious career.

Robert De Niro's Role in 'Goodfellas'

Regarded as an all-time great, Goodfellas marked the sixth collaboration between De Niro and Scorsese in 1990. The actor played Irish carjacker Jimmy Conway in the gangster film, an adaptation based on Nicholas Pileggi's nonfiction book Wiseguy published in 1985.

In the wake of Mean Street, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and more, Scorsese created a template for the portrayal of modern gangster in cinema, with De Niro as his muse.

Goodfellas is "the single most influential gangster film ever made after The Godfather," Rolling Stone proclaimed on the film's 30th anniversary.

Robert De Niro's Directorial Debut

De Niro made his directorial debut with 1993's A Bronx Tale, a Mafia-centered film starring Chazz Palminteri, Lillo Brancato and Francis Capra. De Niro also starred in the feature, an adaptation of Palminteri's 1989 play of the same name.

Doubling as an actor and director once again, De Niro helmed The Good Shepherd in 2006. Chronicling the origins of the CIA, the fictional film — loosely based on real events — starred Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, William Hurt and Joe Pesci.

Robert De Niro's Tribeca Film Festival Beginnings

De Niro — alongside Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff — co-founded the Tribeca Film Festival in 2001, post attacks on the World Trade Center. The annual festival was spawned in an effort to bring together creatives and visionaries across industries with audiences to celebrate the power of storytelling.

"Tribeca has evolved from an annual event to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of lower Manhattan to a gathering place for filmmakers, artists, innovators, and the global creative community," the TFF website reads.

Robert De Niro's Role in 'Silver Linings Playbook'

Based on Matthew Quick's 2008 novel of the same name, 2012's Silver Linings Playbook starred De Niro alongside Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. The dark romantic comedy achieved critical and commercial success, earning eight Academy Award nominations in 2013. Among them was De Niro's nod for Best Supporting Actor.

Robert De Niro's Presidential Medal of Freedom

President Barack Obama presented De Niro with the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, considered "the nation's highest civilian honor." Comedian Ellen DeGeneres, NBA All-Star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and polymath physicist Richard Garwin were also recipients that year.

The medal is "presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors," the official site reads.

Robert De Niro's Emmy Nominations

Though most notable for his work in film, De Niro made a name for himself in television as well — receiving his first outstanding lead actor in a limited series or movie Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 2017 for the Bernie Madoff biopic The Wizard of Lies. In addition to starring in it, De Niro also served as executive producer on the project, earning him an Emmy nod for outstanding TV movie, too.

Robert De Niro's Recent Work

In 2022, De Niro starred alongside an A-list cast in David O. Russell's highly-anticipated film Amsterdam. Joining him in the original crime epic were Margot Robbie and Christian Bale.

Robert De Niro's Personal Life

De Niro wed Diahnne Abbott in 1976 and together they share son Raphael. The actor adopted her daughter, Drena, from a previous marriage. In 1988, the couple divorced.

That same year, De Niro began dating model Toukie Smith. The couple welcomed twin sons, Julian and Aaron, via in vitro fertilization and a surrogate in 1995. The model and actor split in 1996.

De Niro then began his longtime relationship with actress Grace Hightower, marrying her in 1997. Though the couple split in 1999, they renewed their vows in 2004 since their divorce was never finalized. After 20 years together, the couple split for good in 2018.

They share two kids: son Elliott and daughter Helen Grace.

In May of 2023, the actor told ET Canada that he "just had a baby," though he didn't provide any further details about the newest family member or the partner he welcomed baby No. 7 with at the time.

Shortly after, his About My Father costar Kim Cattrall confirmed he welcomed the baby with his girlfriend, Tiffany Chen.

De Niro announced more details of his new arrival with Gayle King on CBS Mornings on May 11, sharing the first photo of his daughter, Gia Virginia Chen De Niro.

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