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

Mar. 15, 2025

Robert De Niroand Tiffany Chen appear to be going strong.

TheAcademy Awardwinner was first spotted with the trained dancer in August 2021, following his November 2018 split from ex-wifeGrace Hightower.

While De Niro and Chen first sparked dating rumors withtheir PDA-filled outing, the pair had met years prior when filming a movie together in 2015. Chen, a martial arts instructor, had a role inThe 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.

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 updozens of gold medals and world titlesover the course of her career. In fact, the athlete wasborn into a kung-fu familyas 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 — toldInside Kung-Fu.

By age 26, she was inducted into themartial arts magazine’s Hall of Fameas 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.

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 thebio 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

Warner Bros.

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 movieThe Intern, where she played a Tai Chi instructor who helped De Niro’s character.

She and De Niro were first linked in 2021

BACKGRID

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

She has met some of De Niro’s friends

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 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 wrappedWise Guysearlier 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.”

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

WhenThe Guardianasked De Niro about raising a newborn at 80 years old, he admitted that Chen does the “heavy lifting.” TheGoodfellasstar added: “I’m there, I support my girlfriend. Butshe does the work. And we have help, which is so important.”

In December 2023, De Niro shared that he and Chenwant Gia to be bilingual.

“[She is] half-Chinese. I want to try to teach her Chinese and show her nursery rhymes in English and Chinese,” the actor said during an interview withRolling Stone. “I’m trying to have her learn both.”

Now that Gia is a toddler, De Niro toldThe Sunday Timesthat they spend their mornings together.

“I’man early riser.I spend my mornings watching Ms. Rachel with her, and I give her her bottle,” he said.

She was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy

“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 and De Niro were invited to the White House

DREW ANGERER/AFP via Getty

In April 2024, Chen and De Niro attended theWhite House state dinner, which honored Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife, Yuko. They were among several other VIP guests, includingJeff Bezos and his fiancée,Lauren Sánchez.

source: people.com