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Robert De Niro will be honored at the 26th Annual SAG Awards, which premieres Sunday, January 19, at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST on both TNT and TBS. The 76-year-old actor, who stands at 5’10” tall, will be presented with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award during Sunday’s ceremony.
“I have been a member of this union for over 50 years. It’s an honor to receive this award from SAG-AFTRA,” De Niro said ahead of the show. De Niro is receiving the award for performative and philanthropic accomplishments made across his 54-year career, according to the SAG Awards website.
With all eyes on De Niro during tonight’s award show, fans might be curious about his personal life, including his background, where he was born and raised, his rise to fame and his career. Here’s what we know:
De Niro Rose to Fame After He Appeared in the Martin Scorsese Film Mean Streets
GettyRobert De Niro will receive life achievement award at SAG Awards
Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. was born on August 17, 1943, in New York City. His parents were both artists who had met while attending Hans Hoffman’s famed Provincetown painting classes, according to Biography.com. His mother, Virginia Admiral, was a gifted painter who made a name for herself in the 1940s and 1950s New York art scene. His father, Robert De Niro Sr., was also a painter, a sculptor and a poet whose work received “critical acclaim,” Biography reports. His parents divorced when he was 2-years-old, and the actor was primarily raised by his mother.
De Niro first rose to fame for his role in Bang the Drum Slowly in 1973, but his career really took off after he appeared in the film Mean Streets, which was his first film with director Martin Scorsese. He received an Academy Award for “Best Supporting Actor” for his role in The Godfather: Part II the following year, and went on to receive Academy Award nominations for “Best Actor” in Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter and Cape Fear.
The celebrated actor already has several awards and distinguished honors under his belt, including two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, a Kennedy Center Honor, the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award, a Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a GLADD Excellence in Media Award among many others, according to the SAG website.
In addition to acting, De Niro also directed several films. In 1993 he made his directorial debut with A Bronx Tale, a movie about the Mafia set in the 1960s. He later directed the highly acclaimed movie The Good Shepherd, a 2006 spy film centered around the origins of the CIA.
De Niro Will Receive the Life Achievement Award During the 26th Annual SAG Awards
GettyLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 18: Robert De Niro attends the 31st Annual Producers Guild Awards at Hollywood Palladium on January 18, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
According to the SAG Awards website, the Life Achievement Award is given annually to an actor who fosters the “finest ideals of the acting profession.”
“Robert De Niro is an actor of extraordinary depth and ability. The characters he creates captivate our imaginations. From the smoldering inferno of young Vito Corleone to the raging bull Jake Lamotta and everybody’s grandpa Ben Whittaker, he continues to touch our hearts and open our minds to new and exciting worlds of understanding and emotion,” said Gabrielle Carteris, President of SAG-AFTRA. “It is my great privilege to announce that SAG-AFTRA’s highest honor will be presented to one of the most singular talents of our generation, Robert De Niro.”
Tune in Sunday, January 19 at 8 p.m. EST to catch the 26th Annual SAG Awards live on TNT and TBS. In the meantime, don’t forget to check out this author’s profile for all of your TV coverage and entertainment news.
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