Who Is Robert De Niro's Girlfriend? All About Tiffany Chen

Get to know Robert De Niro's girlfriend.

The Academy Award winner was first spotted with Tiffany Chen in August 2021, following his November 2018 split from ex-wife Grace Hightower.

While De Niro and Chen first sparked dating rumors with their PDA-filled outing, the pair had met years prior when filming a movie together in 2015. Chen, a martial arts instructor, had a role in the project The Intern, which starred De Niro.

Despite their various European vacations and dinner dates with each other, neither De Niro nor Chen have spoken publicly about the status of their relationship.

In May 2023, De Niro revealed that he welcomed a seventh baby during a sit-down with ET Canada, but at the time, he didn't specify with whom. The actor's About My Father costar Kim Cattrall confirmed shortly after that he welcomed the child with his girlfriend, Chen.

De Niro has six children from previous relationships. He and his first wife, Diahnne Abbott, are parents to daughter Drena and son Raphael. In 1995, he welcomed twin sons Julian and Aaron with his former girlfriend Toukie Smith. De Niro also shares son Elliot and daughter Helen Grace with Hightower.

Here's everything to know about De Niro's girlfriend, Tiffany Chen.

She's a martial arts instructor

Chen is a martial arts pro with an impressive resume, having racked up dozens of gold medals and world titles over the course of her career. In fact, the athlete was born into a kung-fu family as the daughter of Grandmaster William C.C. Chen.

"I never practiced tai chi with the intention of looking to fight. I learned the form, I learned some push hands and then I started competing in push hands," Chen — who entered her first push hands competition at age 16 — told Inside Kung-Fu.

By age 26, she was inducted into the martial arts magazine's Hall of Fame as competitor of the year in February 2011. "My plan has always been to learn how to be as great as my father," she told the outlet.

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She has a background in dance

While martial arts is her primary focus, Chen's interest in the sport derived from her background in dance at a young age, including ballet and hula. She also took up swimming and gymnastic at age five, according to the bio on her website.

At age eight, Chen picked up figure skating and won three gold medals in a regional competition at age 11. In an effort to perfect her craft, she took ballroom dancing classes but quickly learned that tai chi was the secret to improving her form.

She first met De Niro on a movie set in 2015

Due to her impressive martial arts background, she was cast in a movie role that aligned with her skills — a gig that first introduced her to the Oscar-winning actor. The two met on set while working on the 2015 movie The Intern, where she played a Tai Chi instructor who helped De Niro's character.

She and De Niro were first linked in 2021

In August 2021, the duo sparked romance rumors when they were spotted holding hands while vacationing in the South of France. They were seen close together as they walked down to a luxury yacht where they joined a group of friends.

They were later spotted kissing on the boat, as seen in photos obtained by The Daily Mail. The outlet reported the luxury boat belonged to De Niro's billionaire business partner James Packer.

She has met some of De Niro's friends

Chen and De Niro were most recently photographed together leaving the restaurant Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica in March 2023. They were snapped alongside Harvey Keitel and Billy Crystal, who dined with them, according to photos obtained by Daily Mail.

An eyewitness at Giorgio Baldi told PEOPLE the group "had a long weekday dinner" and stayed until near closing time at the restaurant. "Robert and Tiffany sat next to each other. He is a regular at the restaurant and knew to order his favorites. They looked happy together," the eyewitness continued.

"He was attentive and sweet to her," they added of De Niro.

She is very supportive of De Niro's career

Amid the news that the actor welcomed his seventh child, a source told PEOPLE that the actor and Chen live together in Los Angeles, where De Niro "maintains a busy work schedule."

"He wrapped Wise Guys earlier this year," the source said. "He was very focused and energetic during filming. Just so professional and skillful. Truly a master at acting."

The insider added that "Tiffany seemed supportive" and "visited the set" where her beau was working: "He seemed excited to have her around."

She welcomed a baby girl with De Niro

De Niro welcomed his seventh baby on April 6, 2023. He announced the exciting news during a sit-down interview with ET Canada in May 2023. At the time, the actor didn't specify with whom he welcomed his seventh child, but his costar Cattrall confirmed it was Chen shortly after.

That same month, De Niro shared the first photo of his daughter, Gia Virginia Chen De Niro, with Gayle King on CBS Mornings and made it clear that the baby was "planned."

When The Guardian asked De Niro about raising a newborn at 80 years old, he admitted that Chen does the "heavy lifting." The Goodfellas star added: "I’m there, I support my girlfriend. But she does the work. And we have help, which is so important.”

She was diagnosed with Bell's palsy

After Chen gave birth to her baby with De Niro, she experienced a scary postpartum health complication and eventually was diagnosed with Bell's palsy. She opened up about her experience during an interview with Gayle King on CBS Mornings in July.

"When I went home, I started to feel like ... my tongue felt strange," she said.

"It felt a little tingly, just starting to get a little bit numb. And then I realized my face just felt weird. I didn't know what the feeling was that I was having. It felt weird."

"Did it look different to you? Your face when you looked in the mirror?" King asked Chen. "Yeah," she responded.

"When I got home, it was like everything was starting to just fall down on itself. Like, my face was melting on itself," Chen explained. "And then a week after giving birth, that was when it all hit. And I called my doctor, and I ... was trying to eat."

She continued, "I went to put a fork of food in my mouth and everything came out. I couldn't eat. And then I was starting to slur. So I said, 'There's something really going on here.' "

Chen was immediately told, "'Go right to the hospital.' [The hospital] admitted me. And I lost all facial function the minute I got into the hospital," she said.

She celebrated Robert De Niro's 80th birthday

De Niro turned 80 on Aug. 17, 2023 — and Chen was by his side to celebrate his major milestone. In addition, some of Hollywood's biggest names were in attendance in honor of his special day.

The actor's family and close friends descended upon New York to enjoy a special dinner. Notable guests included Paul McCartney and his wife Nancy Shevell, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas,Christopher Walken, Martin Scorsese, Bette Midler, Jane Krakowski, among others.

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