New York City boy
He was born in NYC in 1943. He was a just another shy kid growing up in Little Italy. Though he is often thought of as Italian American, he's actually 3/4 Irish, and his pale skin earned him the nickname Bobby Milk. De Niro got his first taste of acting playing The Cowardly Lion in a local production of the Wizard of Oz. By the age of 17 he'd found the courage to drop out of high school and pursue his acting career. It took him about five years to snag his first film role, an uncredited bit in Trois chambres à Manhattan.

Stories from the street
Much of De Niro's success, and many of his most highly acclaimed roles, have come from his partnership with Martin Scorsese. They've made their names by shooting mostly gritty dramas about tough guys. If De Niro's first role for Scorsese, in Mean Streets, introduced his fiery intensity to film audiences, then his role as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver burned his image into their minds. The relationship between the two has created such classic films as Taxi Driver, Mean Streets, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, Goodfellas, Casino and Cape Fear. De Niro says that he has recently discussed with Scorsese the possibility of making a sequel to Taxi Driver.

The untouchable?
Despite being one of the most revered actors working today, De Niro has made his share of stinkers, especially in recent years. Hide and Seek, released in January 2005, garnered these reviews:
"It veers tantalizingly close to being one of those movies that is so bad it's good, but in the end, it's so bad it's just . . . bad." Washington Post
"Robert De Niro collects another stupendous paycheck for starring in another piece of exploitable junk." Wall Street Journal
The thriller Godsend which came out in 2004 also did little to thrill critics:
"Bobby, very seriously, is there anything you say no to anymore?" Washington Post

American beauty
Although De Niro usually refuses to discuss politics with interviewers, someone of his stature cannot help but get drawn into political debates on occasion. He contributed about £10,000 to John Kerry's recent Presidential campaign, and it is well known that he does not support George Bush's policies. Meanwhile, he was denounced by an Italian group for perpetuating "negative stereotypes" of Italian Americans in films such as A Shark's Tale and The Godfather: Part II. He's no amour de France either, having been caught up in an investigation into a Parisian prostitution ring in the 90s. He denied any involvement and vowed never to return to France after the incident.