October 9, 2025
Robert De Niro Responds To Daughter Airyn Coming Out As Trans



Robert De Niro is supportive of his trans daughter, Airyn De Niro.

In a statement, he told Variety how he feels about his child, whom he shares with Toukieย Smith, being transgender.

โ€œI loved and supported Aaron as my son, and now I love and support Airyn as my daughter. I donโ€™t know what the big deal is,โ€ he said. โ€œI love all my children.โ€

De Niro is a proud father of seven. He and Smith share Airyn and Airyn’s twin brother, Julian, together.

Airyn came out as transgender in an April interview with Them magazine after she was outed by a tabloid, who shared paparazzi photos of her with long pink hair. The publication announced her identity as a trans woman.

Airyn, who started hormone therapy in 2024, told Them magazine that she never felt like she fit in when she was younger.

โ€œI 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,โ€ she told Them. โ€œIt was never just, โ€˜Youโ€™re just right, just the way you are.โ€™โ€

However, after being influenced by Black women likeย Laverne Cox, Raven-Symonรฉย and her mother, she started to change the way she saw herself.

โ€œI think stepping into this new identity, while also being more proud of my Blackness, makes me feel closer to them in some way,โ€ she said.

As for how her parents feel about her being trans? She said Smith and De Niro they were always accepting of her queerness. Even though they fully supported her, she said she still felt anxiety transitioning.

โ€œI think part of me is concerned that (my family) will maybe still think of me as the person I was before the transition,” Airyn said.

She feels compelled to speak out about her journey because she wants the world to understand what trans people go through.

โ€œI wish people saw someone who is trying their hardest to heal from growing up not feeling good about themselves. (And) in the process of that, trying to make other people feel good about themselves,” she said.

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