Robert De Niro Height:
Robert De Niro Height: How Tall Is He Really?
Robert De Niro height is 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm). This is the most commonly cited measurement for the two-time Academy Award winner, though a few listings round it up to 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm). That puts him slightly above the average American man and taller than many of his famous co-stars and collaborators. His compact, wiry frame has long been part of how audiences read his characters.
Quick Facts
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm), approximate |
| Weight | About 165 lbs (75 kg), approximate |
| Date of Birth | August 17, 1943 |
| Age | 83 years |
| Birthplace | New York City, New York, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Zodiac Sign | Leo |
| Profession | Actor, producer, director |
| Shoe Size | About US 10 (approximate) |
Early Life and Background
Robert De Niro was born in Manhattan and raised largely in Greenwich Village and Little Italy. His parents were both artists. His father, Robert De Niro Sr., was an abstract expressionist painter, and his mother, Virginia Admiral, was a painter and poet. They separated when he was a toddler, and he grew up shuttling between his mother’s household and his father’s studio. His heritage is mixed: his father had Italian and Irish roots, while his mother’s ancestry included English, Dutch, German, and French.
He was a shy kid, and the street-smart neighborhood he grew up in gave him the nickname “Bobby Milk,” a reference to his pale complexion. A school production of The Wizard of Oz, in which he played the Cowardly Lion, gave him an early taste of performing. As a teenager he left high school and committed to acting, studying with two of the great teachers of the craft, Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg, the latter at the Actors Studio.
He spent his early twenties in small stage productions and off-Broadway work while developing the intense preparation habits that became his trademark. By the late 1960s he had caught the attention of a young filmmaker named Brian De Palma, and that connection opened the door to screen work.
Career Journey and Timeline
- 1968-1970: De Niro appears in Brian De Palma’s low-budget films Greetings, The Wedding Party, and Hi, Mom!, building a reputation in independent cinema.
- 1973: Two breakthrough performances arrive: baseball catcher Bruce Pearson in Bang the Drum Slowly and reckless Johnny Boy in Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets. This begins one of cinema’s greatest actor-director partnerships.
- 1974: He wins his first Academy Award, Best Supporting Actor, for playing the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II.
- 1976: Taxi Driver turns Travis Bickle into a cultural icon. The same year he appears in Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1900.
- 1978: The Deer Hunter earns another Oscar nomination.
- 1980: Raging Bull delivers his second Oscar, this time for Best Actor. He famously gained around 60 pounds to portray boxer Jake LaMotta in later life.
- 1983-1984: The King of Comedy and Once Upon a Time in America show his range across dark comedy and crime epic.
- 1990-1995: A run of crime classics follows: Goodfellas, Cape Fear, A Bronx Tale (his directorial debut), Heat, and Casino.
- 1997-1998: Jackie Brown and Wag the Dog show him thriving in both Tarantino-style crime and political satire.
- 2000-2004: Meet the Parents launches a hugely successful comedy franchise. In 2002 he co-founded the Tribeca Film Festival.
- 2012: Silver Linings Playbook earns him another Best Actor nomination.
- 2019: He reunites with Scorsese for The Irishman and plays talk-show host Murray Franklin in Joker.
- 2023-2024: Killers of the Flower Moon brings further awards attention, and he receives an honorary Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2024.
Across more than five decades, he has also received the Cecil B. DeMille Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Physical Appearance and Robert De Niro Height in Detail
At 5 feet 9 inches, De Niro stands just above the average height of American men, which is a little under 5 feet 9 inches. Different sources cite slightly different numbers, with some listing 5 feet 8.5 inches and others 5 feet 10 inches, so the figure is best treated as approximate. His weight is usually listed around 165 pounds, but it has swung dramatically depending on the role.
His build is naturally lean and compact. Few actors have changed their bodies as visibly for work. For Raging Bull he trained as a boxer, then deliberately gained weight to play LaMotta after retirement. For Cape Fear he built a muscular, tattooed physique. In his later career he has settled into a trimmer, more understated look.
He has dark brown eyes and dark brown hair, now white and silver. His face is famously expressive, with a slightly drooping left side of the mouth and heavy-lidded eyes that give him a brooding, watchful look. His off-screen style is understated: dark tailored jackets, simple shirts, and little flash. He is rarely seen in anything loud, which fits his reputation for privacy.
Height Comparison: How De Niro Stacks Up
De Niro is not the tallest man in any room he walks into, but he is rarely the shortest. Among the actors and directors he has worked with most, he tends to be in the middle or on the taller side. Listed heights vary between sources, so treat the figures below as commonly cited approximations.
| Figure | Profession | Approx. Height |
|---|---|---|
| Robert De Niro | Actor | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
| Jack Nicholson | Actor | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Al Pacino | Actor | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) |
| Dustin Hoffman | Actor | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) |
| Joe Pesci | Actor | 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) |
| Ray Liotta | Actor | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
The comparison with Al Pacino is the one fans raise most often, and it shows a gap of about three inches in De Niro’s favor. Joe Pesci, his frequent partner in Scorsese films, is about five inches shorter. On the other side, Ray Liotta towered over him in Goodfellas by roughly three inches. Martin Scorsese himself is listed at around 5 feet 4 inches.
How Height Shaped His Career and Public Image
De Niro’s height was never a barrier or a selling point. It simply put him in a useful range. He is tall enough to be convincing as a boxer, a soldier, or a gangster, and not so tall that he overwhelms ordinary, vulnerable characters. That flexibility helped him move between very different roles.
His generation of New Hollywood actors, including Pacino, Hoffman, and Nicholson, rose to fame during an era that moved away from the traditional tall, square-jawed leading man. Audiences in the 1970s were hungry for performers who looked like real people, and De Niro’s medium build fit that shift. Travis Bickle works partly because he looks like someone you could pass on a New York street without noticing.
His physique also became a tool rather than a limitation. Because his height is average, directors could reshape the rest of him. The Raging Bull weight transformation was so striking because it played out on a frame that audiences already understood as ordinary. Casting him next to taller co-stars, such as in Heat opposite Val Kilmer, never undercut his authority, because his screen presence came from intensity and stillness, not size.
In comedy, the same relatable scale works in his favor. In Meet the Parents, he plays a stern former CIA man who is intimidating mostly through manner and stare. Nobody needs him to be physically imposing for the joke to land. In that sense, his height may have supported the central idea of his career: that behavior and preparation matter more than appearance.
What He Has Said About His Height
De Niro is notoriously private and rarely gives interviews about personal details. There is no widely documented interview in which he states his exact height or complains about it, and no famous anecdote in which he addresses the subject head-on. Any quote claiming otherwise should be treated with caution.
What he has talked about, at length, is the physical side of his craft. He has described the demanding preparation for Raging Bull, including months of boxing training with the real Jake LaMotta and then the deliberate weight gain, as one of the most grueling experiences of his career. He has also discussed learning to drive a New York cab for Taxi Driver and learning Sicilian for The Godfather Part II.
His general attitude toward physicality is that it serves the character. Size, weight, and appearance are things an actor can adjust, and his reputation rests on that willingness. In the public conversation about his stature, then, the most telling evidence is his work rather than any statement.
Personal Life Brief
De Niro has been married twice. His first marriage was to actress and singer Diahnne Abbott, which lasted from 1976 to 1988, and he adopted her daughter Drena. He later married Grace Hightower in 1997, and the couple separated in 2018. He has fathered seven children: Drena, Raphael, twin sons Julian and Aaron, Elliot, Helen Grace, and Gia, who was born in 2023 with his partner Tiffany Chen.
He lives primarily in New York, where he has deep roots. Beyond acting, he runs the Tribeca Enterprises company, co-founded with producer Jane Rosenthal, and he owns several restaurants, including the Nobu chain in partnership with chef Nobu Matsuhisa. He is outspoken on political topics and has a long history of public advocacy for the arts in New York City.
At 83, he continues to work steadily, balancing film roles with producing and festival duties, while keeping his family life largely out of the spotlight.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Robert De Niro tall for a man?
He is slightly above average. At 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm), he is a touch taller than the average American man, though he is not considered tall by Hollywood leading-man standards.
What is Robert De Niro’s exact height in cm?
The commonly cited figure is 175 cm. Some sources list 177 or 178 cm, so treat it as approximate.
How does Robert De Niro’s height compare to Al Pacino’s?
De Niro is generally listed about three inches (roughly 7 cm) taller than Al Pacino, who is commonly cited at 5 feet 6 inches.
Has Robert De Niro talked about his height publicly?
Not in any well-documented way. He rarely discusses personal stats and prefers to talk about the physical demands of his roles instead.
What is Robert De Niro’s shoe size?
It is commonly listed as about US size 10, though this is an unofficial and approximate figure.
Is Robert De Niro taller than Joe Pesci?
Yes. Pesci is usually listed at around 5 feet 4 inches (163 cm), making De Niro about five inches taller.
What is Robert De Niro height compared to Jack Nicholson?
It is very close. Nicholson is typically listed at 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm), so he edges De Niro by about an inch, depending on the source. The Robert De Niro height figure of 5 feet 9 inches is the most widely repeated.
Does Robert De Niro’s height affect his acting?
Not in any meaningful way. His average stature has made him versatile, letting him play boxers, gangsters, soldiers, and everyday men convincingly, and his transformations for roles matter more than his height.
What is Robert De Niro known for besides his height?
He is known for his intense method preparation, his partnership with Martin Scorsese, and landmark roles in Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and The Godfather Part II. He is also known for co-founding the Tribeca Film Festival.
