Robert De Niro's 19-year-old Grandson Found Dead in NYC Apartment
July 3 2023, Published 9:40 a.m. ET
Robert De Niro’s grandson passed away in New York over the weekend, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, 19, was found dead inside a New York City apartment on Sunday.
Drena De Niro, the 79-year-old Taxi Driver’s adopted daughter, confirmed her son’s passing via a heartbreaking social media post early Monday morning.
“My beautiful sweet angel,” Drena wrote. “I have loved you beyond words or description from the moment I felt you in my belly.”
“You have been my joy my heart and all that was ever pure and real in my life. I wish I was with you right now. I wish I was with you,” the Goodfellas star’s daughter continued. “I don’t know how to live without you but I’ll try to go on and spread the love and light that you so made me feel in getting to be your mama.”
“You were so deeply loved and appreciated and I wish that love alone could have saved you I’m so sorry my baby, I’m so sorry [Carlos Mare],” Drena added, referring to Leandro’s father. “Rest in Peace and Eternal Paradise my darling boy.”
According to the New York Post, De Niro adopted Drena in 1976 shortly after he married actress Diahnne Abbott.
Drena and her partner, artist Carlos Mare, then had Leandro in 2003.
Leandro was also an actor in his own right and appeared in 2018’s A Star is Born, 2018’s The Collection, and 2005’s Cabaret Maxime.
Leandro’s father further confirmed the 19-year-old’s heartbreaking passing in a separate social media post.
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“Words aren’t enough to express the joy he gave us or the loss we now endure with our families and friends,” Mare wrote on Monday morning. “He is God's child now. On this full moon his spirit luminates what could not be seen in the dark.”
As RadarOnline.com reported, Leandro’s passing in New York City on Sunday came just weeks after Robert De Niro welcomed daughter Gia Virginia Chen De Niro with his current girlfriend, Tiffany Chen, in May.
