Robert De Niro Facts:

1. Growing up in the Little Italy section of New York City, his nickname was "Bobby Milk" because he was so thin and as pale as milk.

2. Son of painter Virginia Admiral and abstract expressionist Robert De Niro Sr.. Despite being raised Presbyterian, Virginia was an atheist for most of Robert's childhood. Robert Sr. was raised Catholic but was not religious in any way. After De Niro was born, his father Robert Sr. came out as a homosexual and eventually divorced Robert's mother.

3. Although he is sometimes referred to as an Italian-American actor, De Niro is actually one quarter Italian in ancestry. His father was of half Italian and half Irish descent. His mother was of Dutch, English, German, French and Irish ancestry on her own father's side, and of German ancestry on her own mother's side. Robert was quite close to his Italian paternal grandfather, whom he visited frequently in Syracuse, New York when he was young. De Niro has stated that he identifies "more with [his] Italian side". He was inducted into the Italian-American Hall of Fame (2002).

4. He is the second actor to receive an Academy Award for portraying Vito Corleone. He and Marlon Brando are the only two actors to receive an Academy Award for playing the same character.

5. He first discovered his love for acting at age 10 when he portrayed the Cowardly Lion in a local production of "The Wizard of Oz". He dropped out of high school to join a gang.

6. His boyhood idols among actors included Montgomery Clift, Robert Mitchum and Marlon Brando. He preferred the darker, more character-driven work of these men to the older stars of Hollywood, for whom their public persona as a star was more important than their immersion into the character.

7. Limousine drivers in Los Angeles joke about his less than generous tips by referring to him as "No Dinero".

8. Has said that Meryl Streep is his favorite actress to work with.