Virginia Holton De Niro

Virginia Holton Admiral or Virginia De Niro (February 4, 1915 – July 20, 2000) was an American painter and poet. She was the mother of Academy Award-winning actor Robert De Niro, and the former wife of painter Robert De Niro, Sr.

Admiral was born in Oregon, the daughter of Alice Caroline (née Groman), a school teacher, and Donald Admiral, a grain broker. Admiral was a Presbyterian of German, French, and Dutch descent. In 1920, she was residing in Danville, Illinois according to the census, with her parents and younger sister, Eleanor. By 1930, Virginia's parents had divorced and she was living with her mother and sister in Berkeley, California. While in Berkeley, her mother, Alice, became a school teacher.

Admiral, a painter, met Robert De Niro, Sr., an aspiring artist, at one of Hans Hofmann's painting classes in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and they married in 1942. One year later Virginia gave birth to their son, award-winning actor and director, Robert De Niro, Jr. They divorced in 1945.