Robert De Niro, thought of as one of the greatest actors of all time, was born in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, to artists Virginia (Admiral) and Robert De Niro Sr. His paternal grandfather was of Italian descent, and his other ancestry is Irish, German, Dutch, English, and French. He was trained at the Stella Adler Conservatory and the American Workshop. He first gained fame for his role in Le dernier match (1973), but he gained his reputation as a volatile actor in Mean Streets (1973), which was his first film with director Martin Scorsese. In 1974 De Niro received an Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role in Le parrain, 2ème partie (1974) and received Academy Award nominations for best actor in Taxi Driver (1976), Voyage au bout de l'enfer (1978), and Les nerfs à vif (1991). He won the best actor award in 1980 for Raging Bull (1980). De Niro heads his own production company, Tribeca Film Center, and made his directorial debut in 1993 with Il était une fois le Bronx (1993).
