Robert De Niro’s Daughter Airyn Comes Out as Trans: ‘I Don’t Think I Have Been Seen Yet

Robert De Niro’s Daughter Airyn Comes Out as Trans: Robert De Niro's 29-year-old daughter Airyn De Niro shared her challenges and struggles in a first-ever interview with Them magazine after coming out as a trans woman. "I wish people saw someone who is trying their hardest to heal from growing up not feeling good about themselves. (And) in the process of that, trying to make other people feel good about themselves," Airyn shared why she chose to talk about her journey.

“There’s a difference between being visible and being seen,” Airyn, who De Niro welcomed with actress Toukie Smith in 1995, shared. “I’ve been visible. I don’t think I’ve been seen yet.”

She went on to disclose that she decided to begin hormone therapy last November and credited the openness and confidence of other trans women as what made her realize that it was “not too late.”

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HRT is an important part of the transition process for many trans people and involves the administration of hormones to align a person’s physical characteristics with their gender identity.

“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,” Airyn recalled of her journey. “Maybe I can start.”

“I think a big part of [my transition] is also the influence Black women have had on me,” she continued. “I think stepping into this new identity, while also being more proud of my Blackness, makes me feel closer to them in some way.”

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Airyn, who’s studying to become a mental health counselor, also revealed that she hopes her coming out inspires others within the LGBTQ+ community.

“Obviously, no parent is perfect, but I am grateful that both my parents agreed to keep me out of the limelight. They wanted it to be very private,” Airyn said. “They have told me they wanted me to have as much of a normal childhood as possible.” From a young age, she felt like she was always being told she was either too much of something or not enough. “Too big, not skinny enough. Not Black enough, not white enough. Too feminine, not masculine enough,” she recalled. “It was never just, ‘You’re just right, just the way you are.’” Though the world has labelled her a nepo baby, Airyn feels she doesn’t deserve that title. Even when she’s been “visible” as De Niro’s daughter, she hasn’t truly felt seen as her full self. “I’ve been visible. I don’t think I’ve been seen yet.”

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