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ROBERT De Niro's grandson Leandro De Niro Rodriguez has died as his mum Drena paid a heartbreaking tribute to her boy.

The 19-year-old actor was following in his grandfather's footsteps after featuring in A Star is Born but tragically passed away on Monday, reports claimed.

Leandro had played the son of Dave Chapelle's George 'Noodles' Stone in the hit film and was beginning to make a name for himself in Hollywood.

He also held acting credits in 2005's The Collection and 2018's Cabaret Maxime.

The young star was the son of De Niro's adopted daughter Drena, 51, and artist Carlos Rodriguez.

Drena took the Goodfellas actor's surname after he married her mother, Diahnne Abbott, in 1976.

Drena has since taken to Instagram and paid a heartfelt tribute as she remembered her "darling boy".

It was accompanied by a sweet family snap that showed Leandro, Drena and Robert all smiling together and was captioned "I wish that love alone could have saved you".

Her tribute continued: "My beautiful sweet angel, I have loved you beyond words or description from the moment I felt you in my belly.

"You have been my joy my heart and all that was ever pure and real in my life.

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"I wish I was with you right now. I wish I was with you. I don’t know how to live without you but I’ll try to go on and spread the love and light that you so made me feel in getting to be your mama.

"You were so deeply loved and appreciated and I wish that love alone could have saved you.

"Rest in peace and eternal paradise my darling boy."

Her emotional post was met with messages of condolences.

"Drena don't tell me it's true, tell me you're joking because I can't believe Leo isn’t with us anymore. It’s an horrible news to digest. Drena my heart is with you and Carlos and your loved ones - I love you," one pal commented.

Leandro's dad Carlos did not pay a public tribute to his late son but shared an image of a black square on his Instagram page.

Carlos is a renowned New York-based artist and is most notable for his subway graffiti, going under the pseudonym "Mare 139".

Leandro's cause of death has not been announced.

Drena and her son had a close relationship and even starred in films together.

In May, she penned a heartbreaking Mother's Day post just weeks before he passed away.

Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, 19, is seen smiling in a series of snaps with his lookalike mum Drena in the post on Instagram.

His mum captioned the family tribute “A Lil bit of Leo”.

Pictures show Drena, 51, and long-haired Leandro in a park, as well as the pair cuddling on a sofa with a pet dog.

In another snap, Leandro appears with both Drena and his dad, 58-year-old artist Carlos Mare.

She reportedly had a transient lifestyle thanks to her father's vibrant career and split her time between New York, Los Angeles and Italy.

After Drena left school, she ventured into the arts and explored modelling, the music industry and even became a fashion consultant.

She eventually followed in her dad's footsteps and became an actress and filmmaker.

Her first role was in Grace of My Heart in 1996 and went on to star in On The Run, City By The Sea and Showtime.

The Hollywood icon is also father to Raphael, Julian, Aaron, Elliot, Helen and Gia.

In April 2023, Robert welcomed his seventh child, Gia, with his girlfriend Tiffany Chen.

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He shares Elliot and Helen with his ex-wife Grace Hightower, and twins Julian and Aaron with actress Toukie Smith.

Robert and his first wife Diahnne share son Raphael.

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