A Deep Dive Into Robert De Niro’s Dating History, Past Marriages & More
Robert De Niro has had a number of high-profile relationships over the course of his decades-long career, welcoming seven children in the process.
The Oscar-winning actor had twin sons during his past relationship with Toukie Smith, who recently died at the age 74 from multiple sclerosis. Smith was a model and actress known for her role in 1980s sitcom 227.
De Niro has been married twice and been in several long-term relationships, including his current one with Tiffany Chen. Get all the details on his past marriages, divorces, and dating history below.
Who is Robert De Niro dating now?
In 2015, De Niro met Chen, a real-life martial arts instructor who played a Tai Chi instructor in De Niro’s film The Intern. They weren’t linked romantically until 2021, when they were photographed on a PDA-filled date.
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They haven’t commented about their relationship publicly, though Chen has appeared at De Niro’s side at industry events. They confirmed that they’d become parents to daughter Gia in May 2023.
Who are Robert De Niro’s exes?
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Diahnne Abbott
De Niro’s first public relationship was with actress Diahnne Abbott, whom he crossed paths with in 1975 on the set of Taxi Driver. They would go on to costar in New York, New York and The King of Comedy. They started dating shortly after they met and married in 1976. They had a son together, Raphael Eugene, that same year, and De Niro adopted Abbott’s daughter, Drena, from her previous relationship. They divorced in 1988.
Helena Springs
During De Niro’s marriage to Abbot, singer Helena Springs claimed she had a three-year-long affair with the actor beginning in 1979. Springs took De Niro to court for child support, per People, after Springs welcomed a daughter, Nina, in 1982. De Niro reportedly was under the impression that the child was his until a DNA test revealed otherwise. Springs’ argument for child support was that De Niro treated Nina as a daughter, even if she was not biologically his. The claims were dismissed in court.
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Toukie Smith
Shortly after his first marriage ended, De Niro began dating Toukie Smith in 1988. Before she transitioned to acting, her modeling career began about a decade prior after attending the Fashion Institute of Technology.
De Niro and Smith rarely spoke about their relationship publicly, despite being together for almost a decade. They welcomed twin sons, Julian Henry and Aaron Kendrick, via surrogate in October 1995. They broke up roughly a year later.
Naomi Campbell
De Niro and supermodel Naomi Campbell dated in the 1990s, though their exact relationship timeline isn’t known. Since their relationship ended, Campbell has spoken positively about the actor.
“For me, privacy is important to know each other, and I always worry that my job will not allow that,” she told WSJ. Magazine, per People. “But I have ways. I was taught that by Robert De Niro. Being alone doesn’t mean you are lonely. I don’t have time to be bored, and I don’t have time to be lonely.”
Years later, she told The Times, “Whatever they say about me, I have remained friends with all my exes … except the last one. I saw Robert De Niro just before lockdown [in 2020].”
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Grace Hightower
De Niro met Grace Hightower in 1987 while she was working at a London restaurant, while he was still married to Abbott. They kept in touch afterward, and the exact start date of their relationship isn’t known. They married in 1997, soon after which they became parents to a son, Elliot.
De Niro first filed for divorce in 1999 and entered a custody dispute, but got back together and didn’t go through with their split. The legal battle saw Hightower accuse De Niro of being unfaithful and having a drug problem, and De Niro claim that Hightower once fractured one of his ribs during an argument, per People.
During their marriage, Hightower went on to become a philanthropist, actress, singer, and an entrepreneur, per the Gordon Parks Foundation. She also worked as De Niro’s publicist. In December 2011, De Niro and Hightower welcomed daughter Helen Grace via surrogate.
In 2018, the actor confirmed that his marriage to Hightower had definitively ended. “Grace and I have two beautiful children together,” he said in a statement to People. “We are entering a period of transition in our relationship, which is a difficult but constructive process… I honor Grace as a wonderful mother and ask for privacy and respect from all as we proceed to develop our roles as partners in parenting.”
