Robert De Niro was hailed as his daughter Drena De Niro's "ride or die" as she marked his 81st birthday

She also posted a snap of Robert in red-and-white striped swim shorts jumping off a boat into the sea on a recent vacation - along with a video of him diving into the water as she said: "Woah, he's so crazy."

Drena could then be heard asking the Hollywood icon in the clip: "Oh my god, are you alright?" - with Robert replying: "Yeah, I'm okay."

She was then heard saying "s***" when someone told her Robert had jumped about 30 feet into the water.

Drena also paid tribute to her famous dad by sharing throwback photos of him feeding a bottle of milk to her late son Leandro De Niro-Rodriguez when he was a toddler and of the grandfather-grandson pair smiling together.

Alongside a final picture in her birthday tribute carousel of Robert with two of his grandchildren on a beach she said: "Happy 81st Bday to my Dad and #1 ride or die .. Love you with all my (three heart emojis) #BobbyD forever (star, crown and star emojis.)"

Drena's boy Leandro was 19 when he died in July from the toxic effects of a drug combination that included fentanyl, bromazolam, alprazolam, 7-aminoclonazepam, ketamine and cocaine.

The New York City's medical examiner ruled his death accidental, and Drena later said on Instagram "someone sold him fentanyl laced pills".

Leandro was an occasional actor who appeared in the 2018 movie 'A Star Is Born' and was found dead in an apartment in the Wall Street neighbourhood of Lower Manhattan.

Robert said at the time that he was "deeply distressed by the passing of my beloved grandson Leo".