Airyn De Niro, Robert De Niro’s daughter, comes out as transgender
Airyn De Niro, the daughter of Robert De Niro, has revealed she is a transgender woman and opened up about her journey.
Airyn was born in 1997 during De Niro’s relationship with her mother, Toukie Smith. She also has a twin, Julian De Niro. Despite her father’s status as an A-lister, Airyn has kept herself out of the limelight until recently, when recent tabloid articles accused her of nepotism, which she has denied in a new interview.
Speaking to Them, Airyn said: “Not only did they get information wrong about me… They just sort of reminded me that people really don’t know anything about me.”
In light of the recent media attention, Airyn has made the decision to go public about her decision to transition, stating, “I’d want to hopefully be an inspiration for at least one other person like me who is Black, who is queer, who’s not a size extra small. I’d want to see more trans women, more Black women who are maybe bigger-bodied or don’t fit the mold of super thin.”
Airyn also explained how she never felt like she fit in, noting, “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 began hormone therapy last November, and thanked social media for giving her the confidence to do so, stating, “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.”
Since coming out, Airyn has taken to Instagram Stories to express her delight at the positive response she has received, writing, “Thank you to everyone who’s been so sweet and supportive.”
Her father, Robert De Niro, has publicly supported LGBTQ+ rights and received the ‘Excellence In Media’ award at the GLAAD Awards in 2016.
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