Along with being an iconic actor, two-time Academy Award winner Robert De Niro, 82, is a father to seven children — Drena, Raphael, Julian, Airyn, Elliot, Helen and Gia. While his kids range in age from 3 to 58 years old, it’s his 14-year-old daughter, Helen Hightower De Niro, who has just sparked some exciting news. That’s because the teenager has scored a role in a new movie that may star her famous father.
Get Ready to See Helen Hightower De Niro’s Onscreen Debut
Getty“Robert De Niro’s 14-year-old daughter, Helen Hightower De Niro, scored a role in a major film made by the director of the upcoming fourth film in the Meet the Parents franchise,” TMZ reported on Wednesday, June 17.
On top of that, “TMZ obtained the contract Helen’s parents, Robert and his ex-wife Grace Hightower, executed on her behalf on August 14, 2025,” the publication notes. “The paperwork listed the film as being tentatively titled ‘Lazarus,’ which may be a code name during production.”
“The director of the film is listed as John Hamburg, who produced ‘Meet the Fockers’ and is directing the upcoming ‘Focker-in-Law’ movie … which is adding Ariana Grande to the OG cast and is set to be released in November of 2026. All signs point to Lazarus actually being Focker-in-Law,” TMZ tells readers.
For those who aren’t aware, the “Meet the Parents” franchise stars Robert as Jack Byrnes, a former CIA agent and Vietnam War veteran — as well as a wildly protective family patriarch — who is the father-in-law of Ben Stiller’s character, Greg Focker.
As for Helen’s potential role, TMZ notes that her “start date was September 26, 2025,” which means that she might already be done filming her part of the film.
Helen Is Emerging After Being ‘Kept … Out of the Spotlight’
GettyAlthough Robert “and his ex-wife have mostly kept Helen out of the spotlight,” according to ABC News, it sounds like she’s now ready to step in front of the cameras. In fact, she’s been popping up in public more in recent years, even “join[ing] her dad on the red carpet at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France.”
Helen has also been introduced to at least one of her father’s co-stars while her dad was working, “Ezra” actor Tony Goldwyn, who told People in May 2024 that she’s “incredible.”
“She was around a lot,” Tony added. “It was really beautiful to see how Bob is with her. She was, I guess, 10 or 11 when we filmed, so now she’s 12 or 13.”
“But they have the most dear relationship,” he added.
Tony also discussed how Robert’s paternal ways were reflected while the cameras were rolling, saying, “It was very interesting because he was playing, in our story, a grandfather to the 11-year-old boy Ezra … and so much of [his relationship with Helen], I feel, influenced his relationship with Ezra. It was a very beautiful thing.”
