Apart from being the accomplished and decorated actor who has starred in dozens of films for nearly five decades now and won multiple awards, Robert De Niro is also the father of six children. With his first wife, actress Diahnne Abbott, the New York City-born superstar had one son, called Raphael.
During their time together, De Niro also adopted Abbott's only daughter, Drena, who consequently picked up his surname. The couple divorced in 1988, as the Raging Bull and The Godfather II star started seeing model and actress Toukie Smith. In 1995, their twins - Julian and Aaron - were born, via a surrogate mother.
In 1997, De Niro married his second wife, Grace Hightower. Together, they had two children: a boy named Elliot in 1998 and a daughter - also born via surrogate - in 2011.
Managed To Stay Away From The Limelight
Drena is perhaps the most distinguished among De Niro's six kids. She has followed in his acting footsteps, with credits in films such as The Lovebirds and A Star Is Born. First born Raphael also tried his hand at acting for a while. He featured in his father's films, Awakenings and Raging Bull, before he eventually decided to walk a different path and go into real estate.
Today, another one of De Niro's children is starting to venture into the industry, albeit in a slower fashion than his siblings. Julian Henry De Niro, born October 25th, 1995, is the latest to give life on the big screen a shot.
Julian has managed to stay away from the limelight that inevitably comes with being the son of such a prominent figure in the world of entertainment. Not much is known about his personal life and if he has active social media accounts, he has managed to keep them away from the prying eyes of the public.
What is known about Julian, is that he does have those acting chops running through his blood, and his work is starting to become indisputable proof of this.
First Proper Foray Into Motion Picture Work
Julian's first proper foray into motion picture work came in 2015, when he filmed in a small role in the James Franco film, In Dubious Battle. The movie, directed and produced by Franco, was inspired - although not entirely based - on the 1936 novel by John Steinbeck by the same name.
The synopsis for In Dubious Battle on Rotten Tomatoes reads, "In California apple country, 900 migratory workers rise up against the landowners. The group takes on a life of its own, stronger than its individual members and more frightening. Led by the doomed Jim Nolan (Nat Wolff), the strike is founded on his tragic idealism and the philosophy to never submit or yield."
The cast was quite the illustrious line up: Franco and Wolff were joined by Vincent D'Onofrio, Selena Gomez, Robert Duvall, Ed Harris and even Bryan Cranston. The young De Niro's character was called Billy, but he only had a minor role in the plot. Nevertheless, the budding performer got to experience his first professional taste of a movie set away from the shadow of his father.
The film received a pretty much underwhelming response, as it was met with mixed reviews on debut. At the box office, it only managed to garner a paltry $213,982.
Upcoming Work Could Really Put Him On The Map
Julian does not have any other credits to his name since that 2017 production, but his upcoming work has the potential to really put him on the map. In quite an exciting part, he is set to play a young Barack Obama in Showtime's upcoming political anthology drama series, The First Lady.
The Handmaid Tale's O.T. Fagbenle will play the older version of the 45th U.S. president and mouthwateringly, the peerless Viola Davis will star as Michelle Obama. The brilliant cast for the show will also feature Gillian Anderson and Kiefer Sutherland as Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt, as well as Michelle Pfeiffer and Aaron Eckhart as Betty and Gerald Ford.
Sooo proud!!! Honoring and elevating these powerful, worthy Queens with respect. Go #TeamJuVee!!! @JuVeeProds #Legacy #Significance #FirstLadieshttps://t.co/5YWaw3hK8r
— Viola Davis (@violadavis) February 5, 2020
The Batman's (2022) Jayme Lawson will play a young Michelle Obama, while Lexi Underwood and Saniyya Sidney will portray Malia and Sasha Obama respectively.
The series was first announced by Showtime's president of entertainment, Jana Winograde. Variety reported on this in February 2020. "Throughout our history, presidents’ spouses have wielded remarkable influence, not only on the nation’s leaders but on the country itself," Winograde's statement read. "Having Viola Davis play Michelle Obama is a dream come true, and we couldn’t be luckier to have her extraordinary talent to help launch this series."
Julian will no doubt be looking forward to being part of such a serious project and working with all these top professionals. For him, it could be the start of something really special.