Airyn is the daughter of De Niro and Toukie Smith.
As part of coming out, she’s sharing her experience, and how she hopes that she can help other women like herself.
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Robert De Niro takes part in SiriusXM’s Town Hall with the cast of “The Alto Knights” hosted by Andy Cohen at SiriusXM Studios on March 17, 2025. (Photo Credit: Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
At 29, Airyn De Niro is coming out as trans
Airyn De Niro is a model, an actress, and an aspiring mental health counselor.
Several weeks ago, a public sighting led to commentary on her changed appearance.
This has apparently led her to take the step of coming out as trans publicly.
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Speaking to Them, Airyn opened about gender, sexuality, and how she experiences her Blackness as a trans woman of color.
In her interview, Airyn admitted that she — like many trans folks — had struggled to define her identity while growing up.
Coming out as gay when she was younger led to run-ins with people who were “ruthless and mean.”
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She elaborated:
“I didn’t even fit that beauty standard, which is thin, white, muscular, or just super fit, masculine.”
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The all-too-common standards of society were even crueler to Airyn
“I was always told I was too much of something or not enough of something growing up: too big, not skinny enough,” Airyn lamented.
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“Not Black enough, not white enough. Too feminine, not masculine enough,” she elaborated. “It was never just, ‘You’re just right, just the way you are.’”
In contrast, Airyn found — upon realizing that she is transgender — that she felt inspired by “trans women being honest and open, especially [in] public spaces like social media.”
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This understanding helped her to accept that “maybe it’s not too late” for her be herself, too.
Transitioning as an adult can come with numerous difficulties, from the effects of having already gone through the wrong puberty to the potential alienation of peers and job opportunities.
But countless trans folks have realized over the years that there’s no cutoff date on being themselves.
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Airyn continued, praising “the influence Black women have had on me. 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 has big goals for the future, and not just for her career
Obviously, given the current political climate in America and abroad, this is a very precarious time to be trans.
