Robert de Niro’s Grandson Dies at 19 after Reportedly Just Finding Love — All We Know about Leandro

• Robert De Niro had seven children in July 2023 and three grandchildren before losing his grandson.
• The teenage boy's mother, Drena De Niro, mourned the loss of her son in a touching social media post.
• Leandro De Niro Rodriguez followed in his mother and grandfather's career footsteps and started a new relationship before he passed away.

Robert De Niro wasn't only a great actor with many accolades for his decades-long career, but he was also a doting father to his seven children. The "Irishman" star's children were Drena, Raphael, Aaron, Julian, Elliot, and Helen De Niro, and Gia Virginia Chen-De Niro.

He became a first-time father when he accepted Drena as his own daughter in 1976 with his first wife, Diahnne Abbott. The child was the singer's daughter, whom the "Taxi Driver" actor adopted as his own before later divorcing her mother in 1988.

Drena was born on September 3, 1971, and dabbled in different careers as an adult. She's worked as a fashion consultant, model, disc jockey, fashion consultant, and—in emulating her famous father—she's also done some acting. Robert's eldest child appeared in "A Star Is Born," "Joy," "Great Expectations," and 2020's "Love & Orgasms."

Her first acting credit was in 1996 when she appeared as a receptionist in "Grace of My Heart," a movie based on Carole King's life.

The same year the actor married Drena's mother, they welcomed their first child together and their daughter's stepsibling, a baby boy named Raphael.

By March 2023, the star was a grandfather to four children, one from Drena and three from her stepbrother. Sadly, one of Robert's grandchildren recently passed away, still in his teenage years, leaving his mother to mourn his death on social media.

Robert's Daughter on the Death of Her Son

On July 3, 2023, Drena took to her Instagram account to share a photo of her son Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, 19, revealing the heartbreaking news that she'd lost him. She started the post by calling her late son her "beautiful sweet angel."

Drena confessed to having loved Leandro beyond description and words from the moment she felt him in her stomach as a baby. The heartbroken mother said Leandro had been the joy in her heart and all that was real and pure in her life, adding:

"I wish I was with you right now. I wish I was with you."

The emotional parent admitted that she didn't know how she would live without her son but vowed to spread the light and love she had felt as his mother. She revealed how much she loved and appreciated her late son and wished her love could've saved him, stating:

"I'm so sorry, my baby..."

Even though she was mourning, Drena also extended her condolences to Leandro's father, Carlos "Mare" Rodriguez. She concluded her post by wishing her "darling boy" to rest in peace and eternal paradise.

It wasn't revealed when Leandro died, nor was the cause of his death given. The teenager's death came over a month after he celebrated Mother's Day with his mother on May 14, 2023, with an Instagram post of them spending the day together.

Leandro and Drena enjoyed watching 1974's "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore"—which she shared a few clips of—commemorating the holiday. In her post, Robert's daughter uploaded several photos of them together and with his father.

According to reports, in 2023, Leandro seemed to have found love by starting a new relationship...

One image also showed the mother-son duo posing with their dog, with the star's daughter noting how she was making many memories with her "soulmate" and "fur baby," Daisy. She confessed that the day was a good one.

Although he had lived a short life and never reached his twenties, Drena's son had already started his career with the help of his mother. Like Drena, he followed in his legendary grandfather's footsteps with a few titles below his belt.

How Leandro Emulated His Famous Grandfather

According to reports, the late Leandro was also an actor. In 2018, he featured alongside Drena in "A Star Is Born," playing the role of Leo "Noodles" Stone, Bradley Cooper's character Jackson Maine's best friend. Besides that famous movie, he starred again with his mother in 2005's "The Collection" and 2018's "Cabaret Maxime."

Following Leandro's death, his father reacted to losing him by posting a black image on his social media feed. One of the last few Instagram posts Carlos shared of him and his son was on November 12, 2022. The third and fourth photos in the reel showed how close the pair were as they smiled together while out in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Carlos revealed footage and pictures from their day in the city, where they enjoyed the great food and sightseeing.

The late teenager's father works in the creative industry as an artist based in New York after growing up in East Harlem. He goes by the name Mare 139 and is a sculptor, painter, and graffiti artist. In the 1970s and 1980s, Carlos famously did subway graffiti, and he also created and designed the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Award.

In the past, Drena also revealed through social media posts that her son and her father spent lots of quality time together.

In 2021, the family met up with the iconic star at New York City's Bar Pitti, an Italian restaurant. In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the family spent part of the Christmas holidays together.

As for Leandro's personal life, according to reports, in 2023, he found love by starting a new relationship with Frances Benioff. No other information has been provided regarding this.

Losing Leandro was a massive knock on the De Niro family, including Robert, who had just welcomed his seventh child, Gia. Robert and his girlfriend, Tiffany Chen, welcomed their first child on April 6, 2023.

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