Robert De Niro’s daughter Airyn De Niro is opening up on her transition and growing up with famous parents.
The 29-year-old, whose mother is actress and model Toukie Smith, opened up to Them in an interview published Tuesday, saying she was “grateful” for her parents’ attempts at normalcy in her youth.
“Obviously no parent is perfect, but I am grateful that both my parents agreed to keep me out of the limelight. They wanted it very private,” she said. “They have told me they wanted me to have as much of a normal childhood as possible.”
“There’s a difference between being visible and being seen,” she continued. “I’ve been visible. I don’t think I’ve been seen yet.”
Airyn De Niro poses for “them.”
The actress also touched on feeling like an outsider during her youth due to being a “bigger-bodied person” and biracial.
“Growing up, when people started hitting puberty and started liking each other… I never had that,” she said. “I never had a boyfriend at a young age, even though looking back, do we really need to be dating in middle school? I was like, ‘Wow, these things signify I’m very unwanted. I’m not desirable. I’m not attractive like the other people, the other girls, the other boys.”
Airyn De Niro said even coming out as gay in high school did not help her feel more included.
“[Gay men were] ruthless and mean. I didn’t even fit that beauty standard, which is thin, white, muscular, or just super fit, masculine,” she said. “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. It was never just, ‘You’re just right, just the way you are.'”
She told the outlet her decision to start hormone therapy last year came after seeing trans women speaking about their experiences “especially [in] public spaces like social media.”
“I think a big part of [my transition] is also the influence Black women have had on me,” she 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 De Niro poses for “them.”
Airyn De Niro also shared words of admiration for her mother, Smith, who was in a relationship with Robert De Niro from 1988 to 1996.
“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.”
Ultimately, she said she wants her journey to inspire others to be comfortable with themselves.
“I wish people saw someone who is trying their hardest to heal from growing up not feeling good about themselves,” she told Them. “[And] in the process of that, trying to make other people feel good about themselves.”
Robert De Niro welcomed Airyn De Niro and her twin brother Julian with Smith in 1995, via surrogate.
“Good Morning America” has reached out to Robert De Niro for additional comment.
