Robert De Niro Welcomes 7th Child At Age 79

79-year-old Robert De Niro is proof you can still make some serious life changes even in your later years -- like havin' babies, for example -- which is what he recently did!

Here's the deal -- the legendary actor dropped the baby bombshell in a recent interview with ET Canada's Brittnee Blair, who brought up to him the fact that he's got 6 kiddos ... Drena, Raphael, Julian, Elliot, Aaron, and Helen.

Turns out, that list is getting a little bit longer -- shockingly he corrected her by adding "Seven actually ... I just had a baby."

Robert, who's ironically promoting his latest flick, "About My Father," seemed to breeze right past the huge news, especially for a guy his age. Instead, he went on to chat about fatherhood, saying he doesn't see himself as a cool pop ... and adding he disagrees with his kiddos from time to time, especially the younger ones.

As you know, Robert's tied the knot and gotten divorced 2 times -- once with Diahnne Abbott, and another with Grace Hightower. It's unclear who gave birth to baby #7.

However, in March he was seen out with rumored GF, Tiffany Chen, and as they made their way to their car you can hear someone say, "Hey guys, c'mon, she's pregnant."

We've reached out to Robert's reps for comment ... so far, no word back. But regardless, congrats!!!