Robert De Niro's grandson, Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, died after an accidental overdose in July 2023.
Robert De Niro's daughter, Drena De Niro, is honoring her son, Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, one year after his death.
Leandro died last July at the age of 19 following an accidental overdose. His mother dedicated a touching tribute to her late son via Instagram on the first anniversary of his death, alongside never-before-seen photos of Leandro and his grave.
"I KNEW this kid was jacking my clothes behind my back !!!," Drena, 52, jokingly began her caption, referring to the first photo of the post, which was of her son posing in a leather jacket and leather pants, with his arms open wide.
She continued, "Today we celebrated sweet wild boy Leo 🖤. In your short time here you made the world a brighter place. You are deeply loved like the sun loves the moon and the moon loves the sea."
Drena then went on to thank everyone who held her and her family "in [their] arms and hearts through the darkest days," adding that she could "only hope to pay it forward."
She concluded the post with the hashtag, "#cantspelllovewithoutleo."
The other pictures shared were of Leandro posing with his head turned to the side in a leather jacket, lines from a poem about the power of someone’s presence in a person’s life, a visit to Leandro's flower-adorned grave, and a picture of Leandro smiling.
Leandro's father, Carlos "Mare" Rodriguez, also shared an Instagram post mourning his son, posting a black photo with the caption, "Year One. Rest in Peace Rest in Me Leo. #youcantspelllovewithoutleo 🙏🕊️❤️💔."
On his Instagram Stories, Carlos shared that they had made a cake in tribute to his late son, which read "We can't spell love without Leo." He also shared some throwback photos and videos of Leandro when he was younger.
He paid tribute to his son earlier in the week, writing about how he relies on "his spirit energy."
Screenwriter Jonathan Ehlen also paid tribute on Instagram in a lengthy post, writing in part, "Already a year since you left, I dare not believe it. We barely knew each other but I liked talking with you, animals, art. You were a very passionate person who deeply loved his family. The news of your disappearance has deeply upset me too. Why you? So young, and who still had his whole life ahead of you. May God keep you little angel."
He continued, "All my thoughts are with his parents, @drenadeniro @carlosmare, his grandparents Robert, Diahnne, relatives and friends. We send you all our love, we are here for you. Leandro forever 🙏🏻🕊️🖤😢🖤🕊️🙏🏻."
"🫶🏽🙏🏽♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️," Drena commented, resharing the post to her Instagram Story.
Drena initially shared the news about the death of Leandro on July 2, 2023, writing on Instagram in part, “Rest in Peace and Eternal Paradise my darling boy.”
Drena later told ET in a statement, “It is with immeasurable shock and sadness that we say goodbye to our beloved son Leo. We thank you for the outpouring of love and support and ask that we are given privacy at this time to process this inconsolable grief."
Shortly after Leandro died, whose official cause of death was the toxic effects of fentanyl, bromazolam, alprazolam, 7-aminoclonazepam, ketamine and cocaine, she penned another touching tribute to him, saying her "heart is broken forever."
Weeks after Leandro's overdose, a suspected drug dealer was arrested in connection with his death.
Robert still feels "disbelief" over his grandson's death. In an interview with People in February, the actor spoke out about the "awful" tragedy.
"It's just a shock. [I] never thought it would happen," he told the outlet. "And I just then started thinking about all the things I could have, should have done maybe with him. I don't know if that would've made a difference. And so that's always playing through my mind. It shouldn't have happened."
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