Robert De Niro shows support for his daughter Airyn after coming out as trans

Robert De Niro is showing support for his daughter Airyn, who came out as a trans woman this week. The 81-year-old Hollywood legend has 7 children, and Airyn, whom he shares with Toukie Smith, opened up about her journey after headlines went viral about her appearance, seemingly forcing her to come out publicly. 

Airyn, who is 29, came out this week with an incredible interview with Them, where she opened up about her experience as a trans black woman.

Following the news, the story went viral, and TMZ caught up with Robert, who made it clear his daughter’s decision did not change anything. “I loved and supported Aaron as my son, and now I love and support Airyn as my daughter,” the supportive dad told the outlet.

© Airyn De Niro/Instagram

He also called out the weird amount of attention the story is getting, adding, “I don’t know what the big deal is.” “I love all my children,” the Oscar winner added. 

De Niro and Smith were in a relationship from 1988 to 1996 and never tied the knot. They welcomed twins in October 1995, Julian Henry and Airyn De Niro, via IVF and surrogacy. Their relationship was notably private, with Smith once remarking, “What’s great about a private life is it’s private.”

© Getty

Airyn came out after the Daily Mail published an attention-grabbing story in March about her change of appearance. She was kept out of the limelight by her parents when she was growing up, something Airyn is grateful for.  

“They wanted it very private,” she says. “They have told me they wanted me to have as much of a normal childhood as possible.” So, the sudden attention was, as you can imagine, shocking. 

In the interview, Airyn explained she has been femme-presenting since middle school but began hormone therapy last November in hopes of maintaining femininity as she got older.  

While she feels like a “late bloomer,” hearing other trans women’s stories made her feel hopeful. “Trans women being honest and open, especially in public spaces like social media, and getting to see them in their success… I’m like, you know what? Maybe it’s not too late for me,” she said.

She also opened up about being proud of her Black femininity and praised her mom.  “Whenever I’m at a family gathering on my dad’s side, people would always talk about how much they love my mom and how memorable she was and how happy my dad was when he was with her,” she said. “I want to be like that… I want to be remembered the way that people remember her.”