Robert De Niro shares heartfelt moments about celebrates his daughter Gia‘s first birthday.
In conversation with ET’s Rachel Smith and producer Jane Rosenthal about the upcoming Tribeca Film FestivalDe Niro expressed the pure happiness that Gia brings into his life.
“Yes, she did. She had a little cake, it was very beautiful, sweet,” De Niro confirmed when asked about Gia’s first birthday party and her first cake. Reflecting on his youngest daughter, he added, “Well, she’s pure joy, there’s nothing about her, there’s no judgment, there’s nothing, she just is what she is, and it’s just pure joy, for goodness sake.”
De Niro, who turns 81 this summer, isn’t letting age slow him down. He stressed that he wants to stay active, saying, “I mean, I try to stay active in everything, and yeah, what else am I going to do?” When the idea of retiring from professional life and playing golf came up, De Niro humorously dismissed it, saying he’s not good at golf and prefers to stick with acting.
In May, De Niro and his girlfriend Tiffany Chen welcomed Gia – their first child together and his seventhThe happy couple’s little daughter made her television debut in July on CBS Morning.
De Niro’s large family also includes his adult children Drena (52) and Raphael (47) with his ex-wife Diahnne Abbott, his 28-year-old twin sons Aaron and Julian with his ex-girlfriend Toukie Smith, as well as his son Elliot (25) and daughter Helen (12) with his ex-wife Grace Hightower.
The celebration for Gia came as part of preparations for the 2024 Tribeca Festival, which is set to take place in New York City from June 5 to 16. This year’s festival, co-founded in 2002 by De Niro, Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, will open with a documentary about Diane Von Furstenberg.
In addition, De Niro will be honored with De Niro Con on the final weekend of the festival, which will showcase over 300 items from his illustrious career and offer fans unique activations.
De Niro and Rosenthal acknowledged they never expected the festival to last for more than two decades. “I mean, I thought we were just going to do it this one time to bring people back downtown, but I didn’t know then that we would have multi-year deals with many of our sponsors. Anyway, here we are,” Rosenthal said.
She added: “We were created because of the terrorist attack in our city and in our country and we have included the voices of artists, our voices, passionate voices and showcased different points of view from around the world. We have given a platform to so many emerging and diverse voices.”
In October, De Niro said The guard The Raising a child “is not getting any easier”, but his partner makes things easier.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” De Niro said of parenthood. “They surprise you.”
“It is what it is. It’s OK. I mean, I’m not doing the heavy lifting,” De Niro admitted. “I’m there, I’m supporting my girlfriend. But she’s doing the work. And we have help, which is so important.”
The two-time Oscar winner admitted that he still loves being a father.
“Of course I do… [I enjoy] everything!” he noted. “With a baby, it’s different than with my 11-year-old. With my grown children. With my grandchildren. It’s all different.”
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