Happy birthday, Robert De Niro! The legendary film star hits the big 8-0 today, August 17, and it comes at the tail end of what's been a tumultuous year.
The actor has experienced several emotional highs and lows over the course of the past year, spanning across his career and rarely-explored personal life.
His 79th year kicked off with an unfortunate box office flop with October 2022's Amsterdam, a big budget Old Hollywood flick co-starring Margot Robbie, Christian Bale, and John David Washington.
While De Niro received positive reviews for his first film performance in two years, overall reviews for the movie skewed negative, and it only made an estimated $31 million from an $80 million budget.
After appearing in another movie released later that year, Savage Salvation, which didn't make much of a dent with critics and moviegoers, the gears shifted in De Niro's personal life.
In May 2023, it was announced that the two-time Oscar winner and his girlfriend Tiffany Chen, 45, had welcomed a child together in April, their first and De Niro's seventh overall.
Prior to welcoming the newborn Gia Virginia, he was already a proud dad to Drena (51), Raphael (46), twins Julian and Aaron (27), Elliot (24), and Helen Grace (11) from his previous relationships and marriages.
Aged 79, one of the oldest new dads in Hollywood, he led the so-called movement of celebrity OAPs (aka Old Age Papas), and was quickly followed by frequent co-star and close friend Al Pacino, who welcomed his fourth child at age 82 at the same time.
MORE: Robert De Niro, Tiffany Chen party in Cannes after welcoming baby
He quickly stepped into his role as a doting dad to Gia, with Tiffany making an appearance last month on CBS Mornings with Gayle King to open up about motherhood with the actor.
She confessed that since giving birth, she had developed a case of Bell's palsy, but received the support of her "very strong, very supportive" partner, saying of De Niro: "He tried to say that he didn't see any difference, he didn't see any change. He was like 'No. ... You look fine.' He's like, 'Maybe you look a little stern.'"
MORE: Robert De Niro talks baby number eight just weeks after welcoming seventh child
Tragedy struck soon after Gia's birth, however, when his grandson, Drena's son Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, tragically died at the age of 19 due to an accidental overdose.
The loss shattered the family, with the Taxi Driver actor sharing in a statement to Page Six: "I'm deeply distressed by the passing of my beloved grandson Leo. We're greatly appreciative of the condolences from everyone. We ask that we please be given privacy to grieve our loss of Leo."
MORE: Robert De Niro supports daughter at emotional wake for teenage grandson Leandro
While it's nothing compared to his grandson's death, it was also announced just yesterday that a celebration from the Tribeca Film Festival in his honor, titled "De Niro Con," which was originally slated for September, has been postponed due to the ongoing double strikes from the WGA and SAG-AFTRA.
Things are looking up for De Niro, however, as he gears up for the release of Killers of the Flower Moon in October, his long-awaited reunion with Martin Scorsese and co-starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone.
The film has already received extremely positive early buzz, and the star has other projects due to release soon, including a limited series for Netflix titled Zero Day and the mob drama Wise Guys for February 2024.
Until then, as we celebrate 80 years of a screen legend, why not kick off a Robert De Niro binge watch (Taxi Driver, The Godfather, Raging Bull, options aplenty)?
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