Airyn De Niro: model, voice actress, future counselor, and Them’s newest cover star! Daughter of legendary actor Robert De Niro and model and actress Toukie Smith, Airyn sat down with Them reporter Ava Pauline Emilione for her first-ever interview since starting her gender transition.
She spoke about how for much of her life, her parents tried to keep her out of the limelight, to protect her. “Obviously no parent is perfect, but I am grateful that both my parents agreed to keep me out of the limelight. They wanted it very private. They have told me they wanted me to have as much of a normal childhood as possible,” she said.
Now, 29 and nearly 6 months into her hormone therapy treatment, Airyn is ready to show the world who she really is. “There’s a difference between being visible and being seen,” Airyn said. “I’ve been visible. I don’t think I’ve been seen yet.”
Beginning this journey in November of 2024, Airyn told Them, “I think a big part of [my transition] is also the influence Black women have had on me,” she says. “I think stepping into this new identity, while also being more proud of my Blackness, makes me feel closer to them in some way.”
She continued to talk about how as an aspiring model, she hopes to provide more diverse representation for trans people. “I want queer people of color and bigger-bodied people to have an Alex Consani. I want queer people of color and bigger-bodied people to have a Hunter Schafer,” she said. “A part of me has always wanted to model and sort of follow my mom’s footsteps. Honestly, if I could be on the cover of Vogue with her or recreating one of her pictures, that would be a dream come true.”
With the term “nepo-baby” popping up constantly these days, Airyn shared that she hopes to find success on her own, sharing “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,” Airyn says. “I would want [success] to happen on my own merit.” She continued, “I had two auditions for this video game, League of Legends. It’s one of the biggest video games I play all the time with friends. I was like, ‘Oh my God. That’d be so cool. It would be a make-it-or-break-it moment for me.’ Obviously it didn’t happen. I was like, ’What’s the point?’ It’s the really big auditions that you’re like, ‘Fuck, this could have been life-changing, but it just I wasn’t the right fit.’ And sometimes it’s hard to not internalize that.”
On top of modeling and voice acting, Airyn shared that she is also studying to become a mental health counselor, stating, “People of color and queer people definitely need more mental health advocacy and support. So I’m hoping I’m able to do that,” she says. “The field originally was so catered to white cis hetero men — what they deem as wrong or right or mentally ill or whatever, that is from their lens.”
Going forward, Airyn said that, “I wish people saw someone who is trying their hardest to heal from growing up not feeling good about themselves, and in the process of that, trying to make other people feel good about themselves.”
Read the full story at Them.us and keep up with Airyn @VoiceofAiryn!
