Drena De Niro : biography
Drena De Niro (born September 3, 1967) is an American actress and film producer.
De Niro was born in New York City, New York. She is the daughter of actress Diahnne Abbott, and adopted daughter of Robert De Niro, whose last name she took upon her mother’s marriage to him in 1976.
Drena DeNiro enjoyed a bohemian upbringing that saw her divide her time between New York City, Los Angeles, and Italy. This transient lifestyle is said to have been a driving factor in her embrace of the arts. Post schooling, Drena began her career in the entertainment industry working as a model. Further driven by her interest in fashion and music she became a DJ and Fashion Consultant. This led her to work as a musical supervisor for Giorgio Armani, serving as the creative force behind the coordination of musical backdrops for high fashion’s most exclusive runway shows.
Her transition to the field of acting began after landing a role in Allison Anders’s Grace of My Heart. Since her premiere role, Drena has worked with and trained under the legendary talent of Larry Moss, writer of the quintessential guide to acting, “Intent to Live”, and Susan Batson of The Black Nexxus Acting Studio. With the turn of the millennium, Drena set her sights on writing and directing her first film, “Girls and Dolls”. This documentary examined a young stylist’s obsession with her dolls, and ultimately won Drena the prestige of Best Directorial Debut Award at the New York Independent Film/Video Festival in 2001.
More recently Drena’s endeavours have led her back to Italy, where she worked on her latest film. Since 2006, she has been the spokesperson for the Kageno Orphan Sponsorship Program which helps provide care for orphaned children in Kageno Villages. Additionally she will be appearing in the new series, NYC 22, which premieres on CBS this April. DeNiro currently lives in New York City with her 8-year old son.
Filmography
Year | Film | Role | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | Grace of My Heart | Receptionist #1 | Film Debut | |
1997 | Wag the Dog | Gate Stewardess | ||
1998 | Too Tire to Die | Waitress | ||
Great Expectations | Marcy | |||
Witness to the Mob | Girl in beauty shop | TV Movie | ||
1999 | The 24 Hour Woman | Lori | ||
At First Sight | Caroline | |||
On the Run | Rita | |||
Personals | Sherie | |||
Entropy | Waitress | |||
2000 | The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle | RBTV Lackey | ||
Girls and Dolls | Writer/director | |||
2001 | Freewheeling in Roma | Keechie | ||
2002 | Showtime | Annie | ||
Ghetto Dawg | Semi | |||
City by the Sea | Vanessa Hansen | |||
Soliloquy | Kara | |||
The Groovenians | Glindy | Voice | ||
2003 | Death of a Dynasty | Female Staff Writer | ||
Love & Orgasms | Betsy Vandercleef | |||
2005 | Freezerburn | Nada the Handler | ||
The Collection | Several Characters | |||
2007 | The Lovebirds | Stella Clark | ||
2009 | Karma, Confessions and Holi | Megan | Also producer | |
ExTerminators | Dr. Press | |||
A Day in the Life | P. |