Robert De Niro made quite the splash to celebrate his 81st birthday on Saturday, August 17, and his family members are rallying around him to mark the occasion.
The actor’s oldest of his seven children, Drena De Niro, took to social media to pay tribute to her dad, providing a look at the exciting way they marked the day — by diving into the ocean.
She shared photos and a clip from their seaside day, which involved the star, who looked quite fit and athletic for his age, wearing nothing but a pair of patterned swim shorts, for a 36 foot dive into the water.
Drena also included childhood snaps of herself with her father, who adopted her after he married her mother Diahnne Abbott in 1976, as well as with her half brother Raphael, Robert and Diahnne’s only child together.
“Happy 81st Bday to my Dad and #1 ride or die… Love you with all my [heart] #BobbyD forever,” she sweetly captioned her tribute, sharing many more throwbacks on her Instagram Stories.
Robert has seven children with his former partners, including Drena, 56, and Raphael, 47, with Diahnne, twins Julian and Aaron, 28, with model Toukie Smith, Elliot, 26, and Helen, 12, with ex-wife Grace Hightower, and one-year-old baby Gia with current girlfriend Tiffany Chen.
During a recent appearance on the Third Hour of Today ahead of the TriBeCa Film Festival in June, the two-time Oscar winner was asked how he believed he’d changed as a father between parenting his oldest (Drena) and his youngest (Gia), and first joked: “Ask the older ones.”
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“I mean nothing is perfect in life, as we all know,” he continued. “And my older kids…as [they] get older, you know, they’re more critical. When they’re young, like the baby, that’s pure joy, period. So I’m enjoying that.”
© InstagramPrior to paying tribute to her father on his birthday, Drena took to Instagram with a bittersweet tribute to her late son Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, who tragically died in July 2023 at the age of 19 from an accidental overdose, after taking pills laced with fentanyl.
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Leandro, welcomed with Drena’s ex Carlos “Mare” Rodriquez, would’ve celebrated his 21st birthday on August 11, days before his grandfather’s 81st birthday, and she shared an emotional message for him alongside several photos of their life together.
© Getty Images“Happy Most Heavenly 21st Birthday to you Leandro …I have always been and remain in awe, love and admiration of you since the first moment I laid eyes on you,” she penned.
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“I’m selfish and wish you were here with me but I know you are probably having the blowout of all blowouts surrounded by an army of angels who love and cherish you as we do here.”
Drena continued: “I’ve run out of all the good and funny words in the vocabulary to describe you and my feelings for you so I’ll just say .. Until we meet again my little Love. Shine On You Crazy Diamond you!”
