Robert Anthony De Niro is a famous Academy Award winning American actor who is considered one of the greatest actors of his time. De Niro gained international prominence in 1974 for his performance as a young Vito Corleone in ‘The Godfather Part II’ which earned him an Academy Award in the category Best Supporting Actor. He also received a second Academy Award for portraying Jake LaMotta in Martin Scorcese’s 1980 film ‘Raging Bulls’. In addition to his film awards, De Niro was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016 by President Barack Obama.
De Niro started gaining recognition in 1973 with the release of the films ‘Bang the Drum Slowly’ and Martin Scorsese’s ‘Mean Streets’. He also received Academy awards nominations for Scorsese’s films ‘Taxi Driver’ and ‘Cape Fear’. His other Academy Award nominated film-roles include ‘The Deer Hunter’, ‘Awakenings’, and ‘Silver Linings Playbook’. De Niro received critical and commercial success for his work in films like ‘Goodfellas’, ‘King of Comedy’, ‘New York, New York’, ‘Midnight Run’, ‘Analyze This’ among others.
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Early Life and Education
De Niro was born on 17 August 1943 in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York as the only son of painters Robert De Niro Sr and Virginia Admiral. He has Dutch, German, English and French ancestry on his mother’s side of the family and Irish and Italian ancestry on his father’s. When De Niro was two years old, his parents divorced after his father came out as gay. Although De Niro lived with his mother as a result of the divorce, he still spent a lot of time with his father. He was baptized as a Catholic.
De Niro attended the Manhattan public elementary school, PS 41 and later transferred to the private school Elisabeth Irwin High School. For a brief period in the ninth grade, De Niro attended High School of Music and Art and later transferred to another public junior high school. He also studied at the McBurney private School and the Rhodes Preparatory School but did not graduate high school from either of them, having dropped out to pursue an acting career. De Niro attended the acting schools the Stella Adler Conservatory, HB Studio and Lee Strasberg’s Actors Studio.
Robert DeNiro – Young Pictures
Career Rise
De Niro made his acting debut in 1965 and spent the first few years of his acting career appearing in cameos and supporting roles. He debuted as a lead actor with the 1968 film ‘Greetings’ but started gaining recognition only in 1973 for his portrayal of Bruce Pearson and John Civello in the 1973 films ‘Bang the Drum Slowly’ and ‘Mean Streets’. His next role was as a young Vito Corleone in ‘The Godfather Part II’ directed by Francis Ford Coppola which won him his first Academy Award. By 1980, De Niro had established himself as one of the most viable actors of his generation and appeared in films like ‘Raging Bull’ which won him his second Academy Award, while he was received acclaim for his work in ‘The King of Comedy’, ‘Once Upon a Time in America’, ‘Brazil’, ‘The Mission’ etc.
De Niro continued to dominate the acting scene throughout the 1990’s appearing in films like ‘Goodfellas’, ‘Awakenings’, ‘A Bronx Tale’, which he also directed, ‘The Fan’, ‘Analyze This’ etc. His films in the 2000’s include ‘Men of Honor’, ‘Meet the Parents’, ‘Analyze That’, ‘Meet the Fockers’ ‘Machete’, etc. De Niro earned an Academy award nomination for his work in the 2012 film ‘Silver Linings Playbook’. He has recently made appearances in successful films like ‘Last Vegas’, ‘American Hustle’, ‘The Intern’, ‘Joy’ etc. De Niro is set to star in an untitled Amazon drama which will reportedly fetch him $775,000 per episode.
Wife
In 1976, De Niro got married to Diahnne Abbott and fathered a son named Raphael with her. He also adopted Drena De Niro, Abbott’s daughter from a previous relationship. The couple divorced in 1998. De Niro then entered into a long-term relationship with Toukie Smith, a former model and had twin sons, Julian Henry and Aaron Kendrick born via in vitro fertilization from a surrogate mother.
De Niro then married actress Grace Hightower in 1997. The couple became parents to a son named Elliot in 1998 but split in 1999. They never divorced officially and renewed their wedding vows in 2004. The became parents to a second child, daughter Helen Grace born in 2011 via surrogacy.
Robert DeNiro – Net Worth and Salary
He has an estimated net worth of approximately $200 Million. He is the highest paid actor on the small screen, roped for $775,000 per episode for an untitled Amazon Prime video show.
