勞勃·狄尼洛1943年出生於曼哈頓，成長於格林威治村與小義大利之間——一個他終生強烈認同的義大利裔美國社區。他的父母都是畫家,在父母分居後，他主要由母親撫養長大,父親則始終住在附近。童年時期他因蒼白的膚色被暱稱為「牛奶仔」，也經常與小義大利街頭的孩子們廝混。他10歲便登台演出，在學校製作的《綠野仙蹤》裡飾演膽小獅，這是他表演生涯最早的起點。

Robert De Niro was born in Manhattan in 1943 and grew up between Greenwich Village and Little Italy — a neighborhood whose Italian-American culture he identified with strongly throughout his life. Both his parents were painters; after they separated, he was raised primarily by his mother while his father remained nearby. As a child he was nicknamed 'Bobby Milk' for his pale complexion, and spent time with street kids in Little Italy. At age 10, he took the stage as the Cowardly Lion in a school production of The Wizard of Oz — the earliest starting point of his acting career.

狄尼洛在紐約接受正統戲劇訓練，先後師從史黛拉·阿德勒與李·史特拉斯堡創辦的演員工作室（Actors Studio），奠定了他日後被視為「method acting」（方法演技）代表人物的技術根基。這套訓練哲學強調演員必須真正活進角色的內心世界，而非僅僅模仿外在表現——這份信念貫穿了他往後數十年最具代表性的表演。

De Niro received formal dramatic training in New York, studying under Stella Adler and later at Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio, laying the technical groundwork for what would become his reputation as a defining figure of method acting. This training philosophy emphasizes that an actor must genuinely inhabit a character's inner world rather than merely imitate outward expression — a conviction that would run through his most iconic performances for decades to come.

狄尼洛的職業生涯突破，始於1970年代初期與馬丁·史柯西斯的合作——《殘酷大街》開啟了這段影史最重要的導演演員夥伴關係之一。1974年《教父第二集》裡的年輕維托·柯里昂讓他一舉成名並贏得奧斯卡最佳男配角,《計程車司機》（1976）的崔維斯·拜寇則成為他最具標誌性的角色之一。《蠻牛》（1980）裡他為了角色增重超過27公斤的敬業程度，讓他拿下奧斯卡最佳男主角，也讓「方法演技」這個詞彙在好萊塢有了具體的形象範本。

De Niro's career breakthrough began in the early 1970s through his collaboration with Martin Scorsese — Mean Streets launched one of film history's most important director-actor partnerships. 1974's The Godfather Part II, playing young Vito Corleone, brought him fame and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; Taxi Driver's (1976) Travis Bickle became one of his most iconic roles. His dedication in Raging Bull (1980), gaining over 60 pounds for the role, earned him the Best Actor Oscar and gave 'method acting' a concrete image in Hollywood.

與史柯西斯長達半世紀、橫跨十部電影的合作關係，讓兩人成為好萊塢最具傳奇性的創作夥伴之一——從《四海好傢伙》《賭國風雲》到近年的《愛爾蘭人》，狄尼洛始終是史柯西斯電影世界裡最值得信賴的道德複雜性化身。

Their half-century, ten-film partnership makes them one of Hollywood's most legendary creative collaborations — from Goodfellas and Casino to the recent The Irishman, De Niro has remained the most trusted embodiment of moral complexity in Scorsese's cinematic world.

狄尼洛共育有七名子女，包括與模特兒 Toukie Smith 所生的雙胞胎兒子朱利安與亞倫，以及2023年與女友 Tiffany Chen 所生的女兒吉亞——他在近80歲高齡再度成為父親,展現出他對家庭生活始終保持開放與熱情的態度。

De Niro has seven children in total, including twin sons Julian and Aaron with model Toukie Smith, and daughter Gia born in 2023 with girlfriend Tiffany Chen — becoming a father again at nearly 80, showing his continued openness and enthusiasm toward family life.