Robert De Niro

He walked the aisle with Diahnne Abbot in 1976. The couple was blessed with a son, Raphael. He adopted Abbott’s daughter from previous marriage, Drena. The two parted ways in 1988.

In 1995, he fathered twin sons conceived by in-vitro fertilization and delivered by a surrogate mother in 1995, out of his relationship with Toukie Smith.

In 1997, he tied the nuptial knot for a second time with Grace Hightower. The duo was blessed with a son, Elliot the following year. They parted ways in 1998 (not legally though) only to renew their vows in 2004. Following this, they were blessed with a daughter Helen Grace in 2011.

Robert De Niro was born to Robert De Niro, Sr. and Virginia Holton Admiral in Greenwich Village, New York City. His father was an abstract expressionist painter and sculptor, AND his mother was a poet and painter by profession.

His parents separated when he was three years old, and he was thereafter taken care of by his mother. However, his father remained in contact with young Niro and played an influential role in his upbringing.

He attained his preliminary education from PS 41, Elisabeth Irwin High School and Little Red School House. His first stint at acting was for a school play, ‘The Wizard of Oz’, wherein he played the character of Cowardly Lion. This debut on stage paved way for his future course of life.

He enrolled at McBurney School for completing high school studies but later switched to Rhodes Preparatory School. However, he dropped out from both of them and started to pursue a career in acting. He took up acting course at Stella Adler Conservatory and later at Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio.

His career as an actor kick-started in 1963, when he bagged a small role opposite Jill Clayburgh for the movie, ‘The Wedding Party’. The film however hit the theatres only in 1969.

He did a couple of cameo appearances for the movies, including the French film, ‘Three Rooms in Manhattan’, which technically became his debut movie and ‘Les Jeunes Loups’. His first film as a lead actor was ‘Greetings’, released in 1968.

Year 1973 can be marked as a breakthrough year for this budding star. Two of his movies—‘Bang The Drum Slowly’ and ‘Mean Streets’—were released this year and his performance in both the movies was highly appreciated and applauded. While ‘Bang The Drum Slowly’ had him playing the role of a terminally ill baseball player with perfection, ‘Mean Streets’ exposed his excellence over playing the character of Johnny Boy, a small-time crook.

Year 1974 only catapulted his position as the finest actor of the industry with the release of Francis Ford Coppola's ‘The Godfather Part II’. His role-playing of the character of Vito Corleone won him the prestigious Academy Award.

Following the success of ‘Mean Streets’, he developed a strong bond with director Martin Scorsese who cast De Niro in many of his successful subsequent ventures. ‘Taxi Driver’ was one such film from the Niro-Scorsese camp, released in 1976. His impressive performance and remarkable dialogue delivery skills earned him Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

His breakthrough performance came with ‘Bang the Drum’ and ‘Mean Streets’, both of which, released in a gap of two months, brought widespread acclaim to him as an actor. Additionally, they did a good business at the box office, ‘Mean Streets’ making a whopping $3, 000, 000 profit.

The epic drama, The Godfather Part II’, a Francis Ford Coppola productions, further cemented his position as an actor. The film gained a widespread appeal and recognition, its eleven nominations and eventual six victories at the Oscars standing a testimony to the same. The movie did a business of $193 million at the box office.