Robert De Niro's daughter Airyn does first ever interview about coming out as a trans woman
Robert De Niro's trans daughter Airyn De Niro has done an extensive interview about her coming out journey to a prominent gay, lesbian and trans magazine.
Airyn De Niro, 29, discussed her coming out journey and how she hopes to serve as a role model for queer women of color creating their own definition of beauty.
She sat down with Them contributor Ava Pauline Emilione at a cafe in Williamsburg, New York, to talk about everything from her favorite video game, to her new pink locks, to growing up as the daughter of one of the world's most famous actors.
'Not only did they get information wrong about me…They just sort of reminded me that people really don't know anything about me,' she began.
And she talked her parents, Robert De Niro and Toukie Smith.
'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,' she said.
'They have told me they wanted me to have as much of a normal childhood as possible.'
Today, Them released an exclusive interview with Airyn De Niro, daughter of award-winning actor Robert De Niro . She talked her coming out journey and how she hopes to serve as a role model for queer women of color creating their own definition of beauty
De Niro attends the 2025 Exploring The Arts Family Dinner at The Angel Orensanz Foundation on April 10
She then addressed deciding to begin hormone therapy / transition in November 2024.
'Trans women being honest and open, especially [in] public spaces like social media and getting to see them in their success… I'm like, you know what? Maybe it's not too late for me,' she noted.
'Maybe I can start.'
And there was a reason she wanted to address her gender identity.
'There's a difference between being visible and being seen,' Airyn says. 'I've been visible. I don't think I've been seen yet.'
On not feeling accepted by the queen community after coming out as a gay man in high school: '[Gay men were] ruthless and mean. I didn't even fit that beauty standard, which is thin, white, muscular, or just super fit, masculine,' Airyn says. 'I was always told I was too much of something or not enough of something growing up: Too big, not skinny enough. Not Black enough, not white enough. Too feminine, not masculine enough. It was never just, 'You're just right, just the way you are.'
Hormone therapy in November 2024 helped.
'I think a big part of [my transition] is also the influence Black women have had on me,' she says. 'I think stepping into this new identity, while also being more proud of my Blackness, makes me feel closer to them in some way.'
On learning to embody joyful, defiant womanhood from her mother: 'Whenever I'm at a family gathering on my dad's side, people would always talk about how much they love my mom and how memorable she was and how happy my dad was when he was with her,' Airyn says. 'I want to be like that…I want to be remembered the way that people remember her.'
'The way [my mom] would conduct or hold herself, the way that I saw her interact with others in public when I was younger, I see myself emulating that in some way,' Airyn says. 'Whether it's just turning on the charm or not putting on a mask, but wanting to be feminine in a way that's inviting and warm and welcoming.'
Robert with his children
She does not like to be called a 'nepo baby.'
'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,' Airyn says. 'I would want [success] to happen on my own merit.'
'I had two auditions for this video game, League of Legends,' she tells me. 'It's one of the biggest video games I play all the time with friends. I was like, 'Oh my God. That'd be so cool. It would be a make-it-or-break-it moment for me.' Obviously it didn't happen. I was like, 'What's the point?' It's the really big auditions that you're like, 'Fuck, this could have been life-changing, but it just I wasn't the right fit.' And sometimes it's hard to not internalize that.'
De Niro and Cathy Moriarty on the set of Raging Bull
And she hopes to be a superstar.
'I want queer people of color and bigger-bodied people to have an Alex Consani. I want queer people of color and bigger-bodied people to have a Hunter Schafer,' she says. 'A part of me has always wanted to model and sort of follow my mom's footsteps. Honestly, if I could be on the cover of Vogue with her or recreating one of her pictures, that would be a dream come true.'
She also addressed mental health.
'People of color and queer people definitely need more mental health advocacy and support. So I'm hoping I'm able to do that,' she says. 'The field originally was so catered to white cis hetero men — what they deem as wrong or right or mentally ill or whatever, that is from their lens.'
And she wants people to understand her pain of growing up.
'I wish people saw someone who is trying their hardest to heal from growing up not feeling good about themselves,' she says. '[And] in the process of that, trying to make other people feel good about themselves.'
