Many people know Tiffany Chen as Robert De Niro's girlfriend and mother of his seventh child, but she's also an accomplished martial arts instructor.

Summary

• Tiffany Chen, Robert De Niro's girlfriend, is an accomplished martial arts instructor from a renowned martial arts family.
• Chen met De Niro on the set of the film "The Intern," in which she had a role as a group tai chi instructor.
• Chen's character in the film played a significant role in the finale, where her tai chi group helped the lead character find inner peace.

Robert De Niro’s girlfriend and the mother of his youngest child is Tiffany Chen, an accomplished martial arts instructor. De Niro is widely considered one of the greatest living actors and his awards, body of work, and box office receipts are all evidence of his exceptional talent, Hollywood charisma, and longevity. Robert De Niro has worked with Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, Francis Ford Coppola, Sergio Leone, and many, many more. He’s been nominated for eight Oscars in a variety of categories and won two, received ten Golden Globe nominations with one win, and has been an integral piece of cinema history.

At age 80, De Niro has had seven children with four women, two of which he married and divorced (Diahnne Abbott married 1976-1988 and Grace Hightower married 1997-2018) and two of which he has had long-term relationships with (Toukie Smith and Chen). De Niro has been officially dating Tiffany Chen since 2021, and in May 2023, Chen gave birth to De Niro’s seventh child, Gia Virginia Chen De Niro. But while Tiffany Chen may be most famous for being De Niro's romantic partner, she's also had an exciting martial arts career.

Who Is Tiffany Chen?

Tiffany Chen is an experienced and decorated martial arts instructor, born into a famed martial arts family, and the daughter of Grandmaster William C.C. Chen. A tai chi specialist, Chen has earned numerous awards and medals across the world for her fighting. Chen is also a prolific athlete beyond martial arts, having competed in figure skating, dance, swimming, and gymnastics at an early age. As a tai chi expert, Tiffany Chen focuses on internal meditation and mind-body-spirit connections in her work, as she herself mentions that she was never interested in using martial arts to fight others (via People).

Tiffany Chen Met Robert De Niro On The Set Of The Intern

Besides starring in the short film Good Manners, Tiffany Chen’s only other acting credit is in 2015's The Intern. It was on that set that she and De Niro were first introduced to each other. The film follows Ben (De Niro) a retired executive who decides to become an intern at a fashion website and ends up developing a friendship with the young CEO, Jules (Anne Hathaway). A movie from Nancy Meyers, The Intern has a relevant premise with a surprisingly effective chemistry between the two leads. The story could have been overly sentimental, but the insightful dialogue and understated character moments make for a captivating movie.

Tiffany Chen is cast in the film as a group tai chi instructor whom Ben often exercises with. While her character is not on-screen much of the time, her role figures heavily into the end of the film. After finding herself unable to perform and enjoy the tai chi exercises earlier in the movie, Jules finally learns inner peace and how to relax in the finale and shows this by participating in Tiffany Chen’s tai chi group alongside Ben. It's unclear if martial arts instructor Tiffany Chen will return to acting, but she was certainly effective in The Intern.