Robert De Niro’s daughter Airyn comes out as trans and receives praise from Laverne Cox
De Niro said that Black trans women like Cox and Michaela Jaé Rodriguez made her think: "You know what? Maybe it's not too late for me"
By Gary Grimes
Airyn De Niro, child of Hollywood legend Robert De Niro, has come out as a transgender woman.
In a lengthy interview with US queer publication them, De Niro spoke about her experience of coming out to her family. “I think part of me is concerned that [my family] will maybe still think of me as the person I was before the transition,” the 29-year-old aspiring actress told the website.
De Niro explained that she first came out as a gay man whilst in high school but continued to struggle with her identity. “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.’”
The starlet, who began hormone therapy in November 2024, told them that she did so as she wanted to maintain femininity as she grew older, joking: “Who wants to be an old man?”
The self-described “late bloomer” also said that she was inspired by other Black woman and Black trans women such as Raven-Symoné, Naomi Campbell, Laverne Cox and Michaela Jaé Rodriguez.
“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,” she said. “Maybe I can start.”
Responding to the shout out, Cox took to Instagram to share a message of support for De Niro. “I just read that I’m one of the women who’ve inspired you over the years and I’m deeply, deeply honored that I can be an inspiration for you.
“Reading that from you, Airyn, was a reminder that I have enough, I am enough, and I do enough, and I want to congratulate you on embracing the beauty that you are and I’m not talking about the outside. I’m talking about the beauty that is being trans.”
Airyn’s father Robert also publicly supported his daughter. “I loved and supported Aaron as my son, and now I love and support Airyn as my daughter. I don’t know what the big deal is,” the actor told Variety in a statement. “I love all my children.”