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Who is Tiffany Chen, baby mama to Robert De Niro’s 7th child? The tai chi star met the actor on the set of The Intern, and Kim Cattrall called her ‘sweet’ on the About My Father red carpet

Tiffany Chen gave birth to Robert De Niro’s seventh child. Photos: Handout, Getty Images

Here’s something we didn’t see coming in 2023 – Robert De Niro has become a dad for the seventh time at age 79. While the baby news made headlines around the world though, not much is known about little Gia Virginia Chen-De Niro’s mother.

Enter Tiffany Chen, a low-key martial arts instructor who is believed to be 45, according to multiple reports.

 

De Niro was previously married to actress Grace Hightower, but the couple called it quits in 2018 after more than 20 years together. Before that, he was married to Diahnne Abbott for 12 years until 1988.

So who is the new lady on the Academy Award winner’s arm, and how does he feel about fatherhood on the brink of 80?

Robert De Niro’s new baby reveal

Robert De Niro attends a premiere during the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival at BMCC Tribeca PAC in May 2019, in New York City. Photo: Getty Images

On May 9, De Niro’s team confirmed to the media that the actor had recently welcomed his seventh child.

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Just a few days prior, the legendary actor made headlines when he corrected an ET Canada journalist who said he was a father of six, revealing that he’d “just had a baby”.
Robert De Niro attends the About My Father premiere at the SVA Theater on May 9, in New York. Photo: AP

De Niro interrupted: “Seven, actually. I just had a baby,” he revealed.

“I mean, there’s no way around it with kids. I don’t like to have to lay down the law and stuff like that. But, [sometimes] you just have no choice,” he said. “And any parent, I think, would say the same thing. You always want to do the right thing by the children and give them the benefit of the doubt but sometimes you can’t.”

On Thursday, three days after revealing the big news, De Niro shared his one-month-old daughter Gia Virginia Chin-De Niro’s name and sex in an interview with CBS Mornings. The infant was born on April 6, the actor revealed on air, and he showed a photo of little Gia in a onesie.

Kim Cattrall confirmed the mother’s identity: Tiffany Chen

Kim Victoria Cattrall arrives on the red carpet during the premiere of his film About My Father in New York City, US, on May 9. Photo: Reuters
At the film premiere of About My Father on May 9, De Niro’s co-star Kim Cattrall unknowingly confirmed his relationship with Chen when asked about his newborn baby on the red carpet.

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“God bless him. His significant other, Tiffany [Chen], is such a beautiful woman,” Cattrall told an Extra reporter. “She came to the set once with their family to watch filming and she was gorgeous and sweet. I’m happy for both of them.”

De Niro and Chen met years ago

Robert De Niro and Tiffany Chen on the set of The Intern. Photo: Warner Bros

Chen might be the new woman in De Niro’s life, but they first met back in 2015, according to People.

Chen is a tai chi instructor, and she met the actor on the set of the 2015 firm The Intern, where she played a small role as a martial arts instructor. The film also starred Anne Hathaway and was a box office success at the time.

Martial arts run in her family

Tiffany Chen is a martial arts instructor, following in the footsteps of her father. Photo: Handout

Chen is a martial arts instructor, following in the footsteps of her dad, William C.C. Chen.

By age 26, she was voted Inside Kung-Fu magazine Hall of Fame’s Competitor of the Year. She told the magazine: “I train as hard and as much as I possibly can. I always try to get to the gym no matter where I am, to keep my cardio and strength training in check.”

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Tiffany Chen made a brief appearance in The Intern. Photo: Warner Bros

She has since won 43 gold medals, according to her official biography.

They live together in Los Angeles

 

According to People, the couple live together in Los Angeles, where the actor “maintains a busy work schedule”. An insider revealed: “He wrapped Wise Guys earlier this year. He was very focused and energetic during filming.” Another source added that “Tiffany seemed supportive” and “visited the set” while he was working on the film: “He seemed excited to have her around.”

The pair first sparked dating rumours in 2021

 
They were first photographed holding hands while holidaying in the south of France in August 2021, and were later seen kissing on a luxury yacht owned by Australian billionaire and De Niro’s business partner James Packer (yes, the one who was engaged to Mariah Carey for a brief moment).

By March 2023, Chen sported a suspected baby bump as she was snapped leaving Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica.

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The baby was planned

Robert De Niro attends the world premiere of Amsterdam at Alice Tully Hall in September 2022, in New York. Photo: AP

If you think a baby at 79 sounds unplanned, think again. De Niro told the media that the pregnancy with Chen was indeed “planned”.

“How you could not plan that kind of thing?” he asked. He also shared his feelings about becoming a father again for the seventh time.

“I’m OK with it, I’m good with it,” De Niro told Extra when asked if he was excited about becoming a dad again. But does parenting ever gets easier? According to De Niro, it “never gets easier”.

At 79, we can image it only gets harder. Unless you have all the help money can buy, obviously.

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  • The Academy Award-winning actor surprised the world when he revealed he just had a 7th baby at age 79, with girlfriend and martial arts instructor Tiffany Chen
  • He shared 1-month-old Gia Virginia Chen-De Niro’s name and sex in a recent interview, and first met Chen on the set of The Intern, a hit film also starring Anne Hathaway