Robert De Niro’s daughter Airyn comes out as transgender

Robert De Niro’s daughter has come out as transgender in her first interview after beginning hormone replacement therapy (HRT) last November.

Airyn, 29, who De Niro welcomed alongside her twin brother Julian with his ex-partner and model Toukie Smith in 1995, said seeing trans women be “honest and open” online made her realise it wasn’t “too late” for her.

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.

Speaking to Them, Airyn said she wanted to publicly address her transition for one specific reason: “There's a difference between being visible and being seen,” she said. “I don't think I've been seen yet.”

Airyn, who came out as a gay man while in high school, said she never felt as though she fit in.

“I was always told I was too much of something or not enough of something growing up: Too big, not skinny enough,” she said. “Not Black enough, not white enough. Too feminine, not masculine enough. It was never just, ‘You're just right, just the way you are.’

“I think a big part of [my transition] is also the influence Black women have had on me. 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 revealed that, whenever she attends gatherings with her father’s side of the family, they often speak about how how happy her father was when he was in a relationship with her mother.

She said she wants to be perceived in the same way her mother is. “Whether it's just turning on the charm or not putting on a mask, but wanting to be feminine in a way that's inviting and warm and welcoming.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Airyn said she doesn’t see herself as a nepo baby, despite her famous father and recently had two unsuccessful auditions for the video game League of Legends.

The 29-year-old said she hopes to expand the canon of modern “it” girls by being in the public eye alongside slim, white, blonde stars such as trans runway model Alex Consani and Euphoria star Hunter Schafer.

“I wasn't brought up having a side part in one of dad's movies or going to business meetings or attending premieres,” she said.

“My dad was very big on us finding our own sort of path. 'I would want [success] to happen on my own merit.”