Grace Hightower De Niro (born April 7, 1955) is an American philanthropist, socialite, actress, and singer. She has been married to actor Robert De Niro since 1997.

Biography

Hightower is of African-American and Blackfoot descent and grew up in Kilmichael, Mississippi. She grew up in a poor family and worked various odd jobs to help support them. Hightower became a flight attendant for Trans World Airlines, attracted by the possibility of traveling and expanding her horizons. Settling in Paris and later London, she worked variously as a mutual fund trader and restaurant worker. In 1987, while working at Mr. Chow, an upscale London Chinese restaurant and celebrity hangout, she met and began dating Robert De Niro.

Hightower and De Niro married in 1997. In 1998, at the age of 42, she gave birth to the couple's first child, son Elliott. The couple's early marital woes were a hot tabloid topic when De Niro filed for divorce in 1999 and sued Hightower for custody of their son in 2001. However, the two worked things out, and by 2004 the divorce was dropped and they renewed their vows. In 2011 the couple had their second child via surrogate, daughter Helen Grace. The couple and their two children currently reside in New York City.