Robert De Niro is one of Hollywood’s biggest names, but with success, there also comes sacrifices like not seeing his kids as much as he would like.
“I don’t know if there is a secret,” De Niro, 83, told People on Thursday, August 27, about the key to balancing fatherhood and work. “It’s just managing it all.”
The Oscar winner confessed, “And there’s no way around not feeling a little guilty about not being there at times you should or you think you should.”
De Niro noted that becoming a parent is “a new experience. It’s not like you’ve taken courses on it and stuff.”
He acknowledged, “You can, of course, but you don’t. You just jump in and you have the child and you got to … That’s it.”
De Niro is the father of seven, ranging in age from 3 years old to 54.
The Whisper Man actor became a father in 1976, welcoming his first son, Raphael, 49, with then-wife Diahnne Abbott, the same year they tied the knot. De Niro also adopted Abbott’s daughter from a prior relationship, Drena, now 54, once they were hitched when Drena was about 5 years old.
De Niro and Abbott, 81, split in 1988 and he moved on with Toukie Smith. The pair share twins Airyn and Julian, 30.
In 1997, De Niro married Grace Hightower, with whom he shares son Elliot, 28, and daughter Helen, 14. Hightower, 71, and De Niro filed for divorce in 2018 after 20 years of marriage.
De Niro welcomed his seventh child, daughter Gia, 3, with girlfriend Tiffany Chen in 2023.
While De Niro has decades of parenting experience, he exclusively told Us in April 2019 that he never really knew what to expect.
“I love my children, just being with them,” he shared at the Tribeca Film Festival opening night premiere of The Apollo. “It’s not easy. Sometimes it’s fun and you love your kids, and sometimes you want to kill them!”
The Irishman actor teased, “Then, when you have the good moments, you forget about the ones that weren’t good.”
After welcoming his youngest child, De Niro reflected on his highs and lows as a parent, admitting he is “trying my best.”
“I’m going to put on my gravestone, ‘I tried my best.’ I was thinking about that the other day,” he revealed on a September 2024 episode of Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? “Please forgive me for everything that I’ve done.”
De Niro added that while he was “busy, of course” building his illustrious career, he “always loved” his children.
