Who was Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, Robert De Niro’s ‘deeply loved’ late grandson?
Robert De Niro’s grandson Leandro De Niro Rodriguez has died at the age of 19.
The actor’s daughter Drena De Niro announced the news in a heartbreaking post to Instagram on Sunday.
“My beautiful sweet angel. I have loved you beyond words or description from the moment I felt you in my belly,” the grieving mother wrote.
“You have been my joy my heart and all that was ever pure and real in my life,” she continued. “I wish I was with you right now. I wish I was with you. I don’t know how to live without you.”
Drena added that she would try to spread the “love and light” Leandro brought into her life.
“You were so deeply loved and appreciated and I wish that love alone could have saved you,” she wrote. “I’m so sorry my baby. Rest in Peace and Eternal Paradise my darling boy.”
Drena, 51, did not reveal the cause of her son’s death, and her movie star father, 79, has yet to speak out about the family’s loss.
Here’s what we know about Leandro and the legacy he leaves behind.
He was Robert’s grandson
Drena is the eldest of Robert’s seven children, making Leandro his grandson. The actor adopted the actress in 1976 when he married her mother, Diahnne Abbott, and Drena then took his last name.
Robert and Abbott divorced in 1988. However, he has continued to spend time with Drena, and they appear to have a close relationship.
Drena once shared a photo with her dad and Leandro at a family gathering on Instagram.
He was an only child
Leandro was Drena’s only child.
She welcomed her son in 2004 with sculptor and graffiti artist Carlos Rodriguez, also known as Mare139.
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While little is known about Drena and Carlos’ relationship, he did have a professional relationship with her father. Carlos worked with Robert in 2006 and 2007 as a documenter for the movie “The Good Shepherd” and was also a member of his editing team.
He was loved by his parents
Upon his death, Leandro was mourned by both his mom and dad on social media.
Drena announced the news with a touching tribute message in which she called Leandro “deeply loved and appreciated.”
Carlos also shared an emotional message by commenting on Drena’s Instagram post.
“My dear Drena… words aren’t enough to express the joy he gave us or the loss we now endure with our families and friends,” he wrote. “He is Godschild [sic] now. 🙏🏼 On this full moon his spirit luminates what could not be seen in the dark. You can’t spell LOVE without LEO 👼 💔 💔.”
The artist also shared an image of a black square on his own Instagram page as he grieved his late son.
He lived a private life
Leandro lived his life relatively under the radar.
He did not appear to have any social media pages and stayed out of the limelight. And while both his parents are active on Instagram, they rarely post photos of their child.
In May 2022, Carlos did share a sweet photo of Leandro during a father-son trip to a museum.
“10 years ago I took my son Leo to one of my favorite museums the @hirshhorn and we marveled at Italian Futurist Giacomo Balla sculpture Lines of Force ll Look at that joy!” he captioned a throwback photo of Leandro looking at a sculpture.
He was involved in the movie world
With his grandfather being an Oscar-winning actor and his mom being a big-time film director, it’s no wonder Leandro got involved with Hollywood.
He is credited in the 2018 film “A Star Is Born,” in which played the small role of Leo Stone opposite his mom, who portrayed Paulette Stone, in a scene with Dave Chappelle.
He was also credited in 2018’s “Cabaret Maxime” as well as 2005’s “The Collection,” according to his IMDb bio.
