Airyn De Niro, daughter of Taxi Driver star Robert De Niro, revealed she’s a transgender woman in an interview on April 29.
The 29-year-old called herself a “late bloomer,” only to have started hormone therapy in November 2024.
Robert De Niro’s Daughter Reveals She Is a Transgender Woman
Robert De Niro’s daughter, Airyn De Niro, came out as transgender in an interview with Them on April 29.
The LGBTQIA+ publication featured Airyn’s transition, her experiences being seen, and what it’s like having a famous Hollywood actor as a father.
“I think a big part of [my transition] is also the influence Black women have had on me,” Airyn said. “I think stepping into this new identity, while also being more proud of my Blackness, makes me feel closer to them in some way.”
Airyn shared that she began hormone therapy in her late 20s, but noted that she had been expressing femininity through her appearance and attitude since middle school, and that her family came to accept her queerness during high school.
She revealed that the 2023 film The Little Mermaid, starring Halle Bailey, gave her the push to begin “her journey toward liberatory gender expression.”
Her struggles with body dysmorphia were also discussed, as she shared that she grew up a “bigger-bodied person” and felt she stuck out “like a sore thumb” in a family of thin or fit individuals.
“I 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,” Airyn said. “It was never just, ‘You’re just right, just the way you are.’”
She also spoke about her desire to become a model like her mother, Smith. However, she admitted that at first, she feared transitioning because she thought her family would treat her as a different person afterward.
Airyn De Niro On Her Being Called a “Nepo Baby”
Airyn opened up about being visible but not being seen in a conversation with the LGBTQIA+ publication Them.
Born with the name Aaron, Airyn and her twin brother, Julian De Niro, were born in 1995 to actress Toukie Smith. Both Smith and De Niro chose to keep their children’s public image low-profile. However, that did not stop the press from calling Airyn a “Nepo Baby.”
She shared her thoughts about being compared to children of stars who benefit from their parents’ fame. “I wasn’t brought up having a side part in one of Dad’s movies or going to business meetings or attending premieres. My dad was very big on us finding our own sort of path... I would want [success] to happen on my own merit.”
Airyn admitted that her parents aren’t perfect, but she’s thankful to have grown up with a normal childhood, away from the spotlight and the media her father and mother have long been accustomed to.
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