Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro was born on August 17, 1943, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. His father Robert De Niro Sr. was an abstract expressionist painter, and his mother Virginia Admiral was also a painter. His parents divorced when he was two, and he was raised by his mother. He spent his childhood in Little Italy, which served as the backdrop for many of his films. He studied acting with Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg and became one of the greatest masters of Method acting. In 1973, he first worked with Martin Scorsese on 'Mean Streets', and this collaboration became one of cinema history's most productive director-actor relationships. In 1974, he played the young Vito Corleone in 'The Godfather Part II'. To play the youth of the character created by Marlon Brando, he learned Italian and perfected the Sicilian accent. This role earned him his first Oscar. In 1976, his Travis Bickle character in Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver' became one of cinema's most disturbing and memorable characters. The line 'Are you talkin' to me?' became a cult classic. In 1980, he gained 60 pounds to play boxer Jake LaMotta in 'Raging Bull' - his commitment to transforming his body for roles became legendary. He won his second Oscar for this film. Films like 'Goodfellas', 'Casino', 'Heat', and 'The Irishman' made him the king of the gangster genre. In 'Heat', he appeared with Al Pacino in the same scene for the first time. He also found success in comedy with the 'Analyze This' and 'Meet the Parents' series. He is a co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival and contributed greatly to New York's recovery after 9/11. He is a father of six children. Still appearing in multiple films a year in his 80s, De Niro is one of the greatest living actors in cinema history.