Robert De Niro’s Daughter Airyn Got Candid About Being Outed as Trans by Paparazzi Pics

Almost a month ago, on March 19, Robert De Niro‘s daughter, 29-year-old Airyn De Niro, was photographed by paparazzi at the Greenwich Hotel in New York City. Wearing heeled combat boots and her hair in long baby pink braids, outlets were quick to call it a “shock transformation,” per Daily Mail, or “striking,” per Hello!, while other outlets outed her entirely. Now, she’s ready to tell her story.

In a new interview with Them, Airyn opened up for the first time about being trans and navigating public attention before she came out herself. “I actually didn’t find out about the Daily Mail thing until like a week after it was posted,” Airyn told the outlet.

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Per the outlet, when she finally got to reading the stories, two things bothered her. First off, the articles mostly listed off facts about her family and her parents, De Niro and actress and model Toukie Smith, and called her a “nepo baby” even though she’s not in the industry herself.

“Not only did they get information wrong about me… They just sort of reminded me that people really don’t know anything about me,” she said.

Now that she can share her own story, Airyn hopes to be a beacon for trans girls, mixed girls, and bigger-bodied people everywhere. “There’s a difference between being visible and being seen,” Airyn said. “I’ve been visible. I don’t think I’ve been seen yet.”

But while that may be true, she’s appreciative and thankful to her parents for keeping her out of the spotlight. “Obviously, no parent is perfect, but I am grateful that both my parents agreed to keep me out of the limelight,” she said. “They wanted it very private; they have told me they wanted me to have as much of a normal childhood as possible.”

With her childhood behind her, Airyn’s now pursuing a career in modeling and voice acting. “I wasn’t brought up having a side part in one of dad’s movies or going to business meetings or attending premieres,” she admitted. “My dad was very big on us finding our own sort of path. I would want [success] to happen on my own merit.”

We can’t wait to see what she gets up to next!

These celeb parents are so proud of their LGBTQ kids.