Actor and filmmaker Robert Redford, who shaped a generation of American cinema, has away. He was 89 years old.
Redford passed suddenly on September 16, 2025, at his home in Sundance, Utah. His publicist claims that he passed away while sleeping, surrounded by the mountains he cherished. The official cause of death has not been disclosed. Privacy was requested by his family.
Redford, who was born Charles Robert Redford Jr. on August 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California, was raised away from the glitz he would eventually come to symbolize. Before switching to acting, he studied art. He eventually received instruction at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.
In 1963, he made his Broadway debut. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he went on to play tiny parts on television, which helped him gradually establish his reputation.
Everything changed in 1969, when Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, co-starring Paul Newman, made him a star overnight. Additionally, it gave him the moniker that would define his entire life.
Redford’s golden age was the 1970s. He played as journalist Bob Woodward in the political thriller All the President’s Men after reuniting with Newman for The Sting. Viewers were unable to turn away.
Redford became a director for the first time in 1980. Four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, were won by Ordinary People. Critics deemed it one of the finest family dramas ever created.
He continued acting and directing during the decades that followed. He featured with Meryl Streep in Out of Africa and portrayed a baseball star in The Natural. He continued to labor and attract audiences to theaters even in his eighties.
However, Redford’s influence goes beyond the movies in which he appeared. He established the Sundance Institute in 1981. The Sundance Film Festival, which started out as a modest getaway for indie filmmakers, has become into the world’s most significant platform for independent film. It’s where some of the biggest directors of today started their careers.
Redford was a dedicated environmentalist as well. After relocating to Utah in 1961, he fought for decades to preserve the American West’s natural environment.
His personal life offered both joy and sadness. In 1958, he wed historian Lola Van Wagenen. Together they had four children. As a baby, their first son passed away. Their son James, a writer and producer, died of cancer in 2020. Later on, Redford and Van Wagenen got divorced. He wed artist Sibylle Szaggars in 2009, and she stayed by his side till the very end.
Tributes flowed in from around Hollywood. He was described by Jane Fonda as “beautiful in every way.” One of the lions had died, according to Meryl Streep’s letter. He was regarded by Barbra Streisand as one of the greatest actors in history.
Robert Redford leaves behind a body of work that altered American film, and an institute that continues to give aspiring filmmakers their first shot. His wife, daughter Shauna, daughter Amy, and seven grandchildren survive him.
