'I honor Grace as a wonderful mother': Robert De Niro's estranged wife, Grace Hightower, demands half of his $500 million fortune

In a story that adds more drama to Hollywood's ongoing sagas, Grace Hightower, the estranged wife of two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro, publicly claimed her share of De Niro's colossal $500 million fortune during a Supreme Court hearing in Manhattan.

Despite a prenuptial agreement signed in 2004 that limited Hightower to a $6 million apartment, $500,000 cash, and $1 million in alimony, Hightower's attorney Allan Mantel put forth the argument that the agreement's language indeed entitled her to half of what De Niro earned during their remarriage. This, interestingly, includes earnings from his flourishing empire of '35 businesses.' The De Niro business sphere, beyond his illustrious film career, spans the Greenwich Hotel, the Nobu/Tribeca Grill restaurant chains, the Tribeca Film Festival, and Canal Productions.

Beyond her marriage to De Niro, Hightower has made her mark as an actress, singer, philanthropist, and founder of Coffee of Grace, a venture aimed to uplift the economy of Rwanda. The couple shares two children, 21-year-old son Elliot and seven-year-old daughter Helen Grace, over whom custody disputes loom.

De Niro and Hightower's marriage timeline is a rocky one. They met in 1987, tied the knot in 1997, filed for divorce in 1999, renewed their vows in 2004, only to split for good in November. The divorce, their second, continues to unravel amidst a public fight for their shared wealth.

"Grace and I have two beautiful children together. We are entering a period of transition in our relationship which is a difficult but constructive process," De Niro said in a statement, calling for privacy and respect from all.

But the couple's parenting trials run deeper. In 2016, they announced that their son Elliot had been diagnosed with autism. This led to a public debate surrounding an anti-vaccination documentary linked to the Tribeca Film Festival, founded by De Niro.

"Grace and I have a child with autism and we believe it is critical that all of the issues surrounding the causes of autism be openly discussed and examined," De Niro stated, drawing attention to the complex intersection of their private lives and public personas.

As Grace Hightower continues her fight for De Niro's fortune, and their shared roles in parenting and autism advocacy evolve, their story underscores the drama, wealth, and personal challenges that often lie beneath Hollywood's glittering veneer.

(Several parts of the text in this article, including the title, were generated with the help of an AI tool.)