“My dad was very big on us finding our own sort of path,” Airyn De Niro told ‘Them’ in a candid interview

• In an interview with Them, Airyn De Niro came out as transgender 
• The daughter of Robert De Niro and Toukie Smith detailed growing up “out of the limelight” and finding success on her own merit
• Airyn, an aspiring actress and model, is also studying to be a mental health counselor, she said

Robert De Niro’s daughter Airyn has come out as transgender.

In an interview with Them published Tuesday, April 29, about “stepping into this new identity,” as Airyn said, the aspiring actress and model shared revealing details about her life as one of Robert’s seven kids. Her mother, actress Toukie Smith, shares Airyn and twin brother Julian with the 81-year-old Oscar winner.

“There’s a difference between being visible and being seen,” Airyn, 29, told Them contributor Ava Pauline Emilione. “I’ve been visible. I don’t think I’ve been seen yet.”

After The Daily Mail and other outlets reported on a recent appearance of hers and got “information wrong,” Airyn explained, “They just sort of reminded me that people really don’t know anything about me.”

Addressing those outlets labeling her a “nepo baby” due to her father, she said, “I wasn’t brought up having a side part in one of dad’s movies or going to business meetings or attending premieres. My dad was very big on us finding our own sort of path… I would want [success] to happen on my own merit.”