“Rest in Peace and Eternal Paradise my darling boy,” the actress wrote in an emotional Instagram tribute to her only child
Drena De Niro’s son Leandro De Niro Rodriguez has died, the actress — whose father is legendary actor Robert De Niro — shared on Instagram Sunday night.
In an emotional post, the 51-year-old actress wrote: “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. 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.
“I’m so sorry my baby,” Drena — who did not share further details of Leandro’s death — ended her tribute, also tagging Leandro’s artist father, Carlos Mare. “Rest in Peace and Eternal Paradise my darling boy.”
Drena’s loved ones shared their condolences in her comments section, including director Lee Daniels, who wrote: “Drena may GOD keep you in his arms.”
Added actress Rosie Perez: “Shocked! I’m so sorry! We are all here for you !!! I love you too [sic] much!”
On Mother’s Day, Drena shared sweet photos of her and Leandro — who appeared in 2018’s A Star Is Born — together. “Today was a good day,” she captioned the post.
Drena is the oldest of De Niro’s seven children. Her mother is his first wife, actress Diahnne Abbott.
In May, the Goodfellas actor confirmed that his girlfriend Tiffany Chen recently gave birth to his seventh child, a little girl they named Gia.
De Niro’s rep did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
