Robert De Niro on ‘great joy’ of fatherhood at 80

Robert De Niro has described his baby daughter Gia as a “great joy” after he became a father for the seventh time at the age of 79.

De Niro, now 80, shares his youngest child, ten months, with his partner Tiffany Chen, 45, who is a martial arts instructor.

He is already a father to Drena, 56, and Raphael, 47, with his first wife Diahnne Abbott, twins Julian and Aaron, 28 with ex-girlfriend Toukie Smith, and Elliot, 25, and Helen, 12, with ex-wife Grace Hightower.

He told People magazine of Gia: “She’s such an adorable baby. So sweet.

“[When I] look at her, everything else goes away. So it’s a great joy and relief to just be with her in the moment.”

He added: “The kids all get a big kick out of her.

“The grandkids even. She’s their aunt – [and] they’re about to be teenagers!”

Raphael has three children while Drena’s son, Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, died at 19 last year.

De Niro added he loves when they can all gather, saying: “The fact that they’d all be together is everything to me.”

The actor is currently nominated for the best supporting actor Oscar for his turn in Martin Scorsese’s western crime epic Killers Of The Flower Moon and say he has no plans to slow down.

Asked about retirement, he said: “Not at the moment.”