One of the greatest actors of all time, Robert De Niro was born on August 17, 1943 in Manhattan, New York City, to artists Virginia (Admiral) and
Robert De Niro Sr. His paternal grandfather was of Italian descent, and his other ancestry is Irish, English, Dutch, German, and French. He was trained at the Stella Adler Conservatory and the American Workshop. De Niro first gained fame for his role in
Bang the Drum Slowly (1973), but he gained his reputation as a volatile actor in
Mean Streets (1973), which was his first film with director
Martin Scorsese. He received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in
The Godfather Part II (1974) and received Academy Award nominations for best actor in
Taxi Driver (1976),
The Deer Hunter (1978) and
Cape Fear (1991). He received the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as
Jake LaMotta in
Raging Bull (1980).
De Niro has earned four Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, for his work in
New York, New York (1977), opposite
Liza Minnelli,
Midnight Run (1988),
Analyze This (1999) and
Meet the Parents (2000). Other notable performances include
Brazil (1985),
The Untouchables (1987),
Backdraft (1991),
Frankenstein (1994),
Heat (1995),
Casino (1995) and
Jackie Brown (1997). At the same time, he also directed and starred in such films as
A Bronx Tale (1993) and
The Good Shepherd (2006). De Niro has also received the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003 and the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2010.
As of 2022, De Niro is 79-years-old. He has never retired from acting, and continues to work regularly in mostly film.