Robert Redford was one of those rare stars who seemed to belong to the landscape he loved. With his blond hair, easy grin and quiet confidence, he became the face of a new kind of American leading man in the late 1960s and 1970s. Yet the fame never fully defined him, because he kept one foot outside Hollywood, in the mountains of Utah, where he built something that would outlast any single film.
He died on 16 September 2025 at his home in Sundance, Utah, at the age of 89. His publicist confirmed that he passed away at the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved, and the family asked for privacy as they grieved. Reports said that he died in his sleep, although no detailed official cause of death was announced. The news closed a career that had stretched across more than six decades, from small television parts in New York to an Academy Award for directing and a film festival that changed independent cinema.
Quick Facts
| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Charles Robert Redford Jr. |
| Born | 18 August 1936, Santa Monica, California |
| Died | 16 September 2025, aged 89, Sundance, Utah |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actor, director and producer |
| Years Active | 1958 to 2025 |
| First Wife | Lola Van Wagenen, married 1958, divorced 1985 |
| Second Wife | Sibylle Szaggars, married 2009 until his death |
| Children | Scott, Shauna, David James and Amy |
| Famous For | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, Ordinary People, Sundance |
| Net Worth | Estimated at 200 million dollars by Celebrity Net Worth |
| Major Awards | Academy Award for Best Director, BAFTA, five Golden Globe Awards |
How Did a California Boy Become a Movie Star?
Charles Robert Redford Jr. was born on 18 August 1936 in Santa Monica, California. His father, Charles Redford, worked as an accountant, while his mother, Martha Hart Redford, came from a Texas family. The family later lived in the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles, where his father worked in El Segundo, and young Robert spent time visiting relatives in Texas.
After finishing high school in 1954, he went to the University of Colorado in Boulder, where he lasted about a year and a half. He lost his part scholarship after heavy drinking, and he was eventually expelled, a setback that could easily have ended his story before it began. Instead he travelled through Europe, spending time in France, Spain and Italy, and he returned to the United States with a clearer sense of what he wanted from life.
Painting was his first ambition, and he studied art at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. Acting came next, through classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan, where he graduated in the class of 1959. That move from canvas to stage changed everything, because it gave a restless young man a craft he could pour himself into.
What Were His First Steps in Acting?
Redford began his professional career in New York, working in both theatre and television at the end of the 1950s. His Broadway debut came in a small role in Tall Story in 1959, and his biggest early stage success followed in 1963, when he played the stuffy young husband in the original Broadway cast of Neil Simon comedy Barefoot in the Park. The stage taught him timing, discipline and how to hold an audience without a camera doing the work for him.
His screen debut came in the film version of Tall Story in 1960, although he was not credited for the role. A more substantial film part followed in War Hunt in 1962, and his breakthrough as a film actor arrived with Inside Daisy Clover in 1965, in which he played a troubled movie star opposite Natalie Wood. That performance won him a Golden Globe as the most promising newcomer, and Hollywood began to see him as more than just a handsome face.
What Made Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid a Turning Point?
Redford had already worried about being boxed in as a blond romantic lead, and he turned down major roles in films that later became classics. The part that changed his career was the Sundance Kid in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in 1969, a western written by William Goldman and directed by George Roy Hill. Opposite Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy, Redford played a cool, funny and loyal outlaw, and the chemistry between the two men lit up the screen.
The film was a huge commercial success and made Redford a major bankable star almost overnight. He won a British Academy Film Award for the role, along with his work in Downhill Racer and Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here in the same period. The Sundance Kid also gave him something far more personal, because years later he would take the name Sundance for his Utah mountain home and for the festival that became his proudest creation.
Which Films Defined His Stardom in the 1970s?
The year 1973 was extraordinary for Redford, and it sealed his place in cinema history. He reunited with Paul Newman for The Sting, a stylish crime caper about two con men in 1930s Chicago, and the film became the top grossing release of 1974. It also earned Redford his only nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor, a remarkable fact for a performer of his stature. In the same year he starred opposite Barbra Streisand in the romantic drama The Way We Were, a love story set against the politics of the 1930s and 1940s.
In 1976 he took on a very different kind of heroism in All the President’s Men, playing Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward opposite Dustin Hoffman as Carl Bernstein. Redford was also the executive producer of the film, which followed the two reporters as they uncovered the Watergate scandal. The film won critical praise and became a landmark in the history of journalism on screen, and it showed how seriously Redford took stories about truth and power. Like Sean Connery, who ruled the box office in the same era, Redford combined popular appeal with a willingness to take on serious subjects.
How Did He Become an Oscar Winning Director?
Redford had long wanted to work on both sides of the camera, and he had already served as executive producer on Downhill Racer in 1969. His chance as a director came with Ordinary People in 1980, a family drama based on the novel by Judith Guest. The film follows a wealthy family in the aftermath of a teenage son’s death, and Redford drew remarkable performances from Mary Tyler Moore, Donald Sutherland and Timothy Hutton.
The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Redford himself, an extraordinary achievement for a first time director. Critics praised its intelligence and emotional honesty, and it proved that Redford was far more than a movie star trying his hand at directing. He had a genuine eye for character, restraint and the small moments that reveal a family falling apart.
What Was Sundance and Why Did It Matter?
While his acting career soared, Redford was quietly building a second legacy in the mountains of Utah. He had bought land at a small ski area called Timp Haven, and he renamed it Sundance after his most famous character. The resort grew slowly, with cabins and homes added over the years, and it became a retreat where artists, writers and filmmakers could work away from the noise of Hollywood.
From that base he helped to create the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival, which grew into the most important showcase for independent film in the United States. The festival gave a platform to new voices who might never have been heard inside the studio system, and many of the most original films of the past forty years first found their audience there. For Redford, Sundance was never just a business, because it expressed his belief that stories should come from many different places and people, not only from big studios.
Who Was His First Wife, Lola Van Wagenen?
Redford married his first wife, Lola Van Wagenen, in 1958, when he was still a young man finding his way in New York. Lola was a historian and activist who later became known for her work on consumer issues and environmental causes. Their marriage lasted nearly three decades, covering the whole of his rise from struggling actor to international star, and it produced all four of his children.
The couple divorced in 1985, after years in which his career had taken him around the world and away from home for long stretches. Both of them later spoke about the marriage with a measure of respect, and Lola continued her own public work long after the divorce. Their shared history remained part of his story, because those early years in New York and Utah shaped the family he would always return to.
Who Was His Second Wife, Sibylle Szaggars?
In 2009, Redford married the German artist Sibylle Szaggars, his partner of many years, and she remained his wife until his death in 2025. Sibylle was a painter whose work explored nature, colour and the environment, interests that matched his own love of landscape. The couple married quietly, without the kind of Hollywood spectacle that had surrounded so many celebrity weddings.
They made their home in Utah, where they lived close to the Sundance land he had spent decades building. Friends described a calm and private partnership, far removed from premieres and red carpets, and Sibylle was with him in the final years of his life. When his death was announced, she was named among those closest to him, and the family statement spoke of a man surrounded by those he loved.
How Many Children Did Robert Redford Have?
Redford had four children with his first wife, Lola Van Wagenen, and their lives carried both joy and deep sorrow. Their first child, Scott, died as an infant in 1959, a loss that no parent ever fully leaves behind. Their eldest daughter, Shauna, grew up to become an artist, while their son David James, known as Jamie, became a filmmaker and activist who shared his father’s concern for the environment and for social justice.
Jamie died in 2020, five years before his father, after a long struggle with illness, and his death was a heavy blow to the whole family. Their youngest daughter, Amy, became an actress and director, continuing the family’s creative tradition in her own way. At the time of his death, Redford was also a grandfather to seven grandchildren, several of whom have shown an interest in film and the arts.
What Was Robert Redford Net Worth?
Celebrity Net Worth estimated Robert Redford net worth at 200 million dollars at the time of his death, and most major news reports repeated the same figure in their obituaries. That number should be read as an attributed estimate rather than an official valuation, because no audited account of his estate has been made public. It is, however, the figure that the specialist source reports, and it is the best available guide to the scale of his fortune.
His most important investment was land, because he bought Utah property early and watched its value grow as the Sundance area developed. He built a resort, a catalogue business, cinemas and a television channel around the Sundance name, turning a mountain retreat into a small empire. He never lived like a reckless spender, and friends described a man who preferred the outdoors to luxury, but the steady growth of those ventures left him a very wealthy man. Like Michael Caine, who also built a fortune across seven decades in film, Redford combined long term work with careful investment rather than a single windfall.
What Did He Do in His Later Years?
Redford never truly retired in the ordinary sense, even when he stepped back from leading roles. In 2013 he gave a remarkable near silent performance in All Is Lost, playing a lone sailor fighting to survive after his yacht is damaged at sea. He carried almost the entire film on his own, with very little dialogue, and critics praised it as one of the finest performances of his career. It was a brave choice for a man in his late seventies, and it showed that he was still willing to take risks.
His last leading role came in The Old Man and the Gun in 2018, in which he played the real life bank robber Forrest Tucker with charm and mischief. At the time he suggested that the film might mark his farewell to acting, although he resisted the word retirement and spoke instead of stepping back. He continued to support Sundance and to appear in public for causes he cared about, but the screen saw less and less of him as he entered his eighties.
When Did Robert Redford Die and What Was His Legacy?
Redford died on 16 September 2025 at his home in Sundance, Utah, at the age of 89, and the announcement was made by his publicist, Cindi Berger. The statement said that he passed away at his home in the mountains of Utah, the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved, and it added that he would be missed greatly. His family asked for privacy, and tributes poured in from actors, directors and filmmakers who had been helped by Sundance or inspired by his films.
His legacy rests on three pillars, and each one would have been enough on its own. As an actor he gave audiences some of the most enduring performances of the twentieth century, from the Sundance Kid to Bob Woodward and the sailor in All Is Lost. As a director he proved that a star could also be a serious filmmaker, winning the Academy Award for Ordinary People and telling stories about conscience and family. As a founder of Sundance he opened doors for generations of independent filmmakers who might otherwise never have been seen.
Lesser Known Facts About Robert Redford
- He originally wanted to be a painter, and he studied art at the Pratt Institute before turning to acting.
- He worked at a Boulder restaurant and bar called The Sink while he was a student at the University of Colorado.
- He turned down roles in two later classics before his breakthrough, because he did not want to be typecast as a romantic lead.
- He was voted Hollywood top box office star by cinema exhibitors in each year from 1974 to 1976.
- He had a mild case of polio at the age of 11, long before he became famous.
- He played a Marvel villain late in life, appearing as Alexander Pierce in two Marvel films.
- He was still working in his eighties, with his final film role coming in Avengers Endgame in 2019.
Frequently Asked Questions About Robert Redford
How old was Robert Redford when he died?
Robert Redford was 89 years old when he died on 16 September 2025. He had been born on 18 August 1936 in Santa Monica, California, and he died at his home in Sundance, Utah.
Who was Robert Redford wife at the time of his death?
His wife at the time of his death was Sibylle Szaggars, the German artist whom he married in 2009. She remained married to him until his death, and the couple had lived together in Utah for many years.
Who was Robert Redford first wife?
His first wife was Lola Van Wagenen, whom he married in 1958 and divorced in 1985. She was a historian and activist, and she was the mother of all four of his children.
How many children did Robert Redford have?
He had four children: Scott, Shauna, David James and Amy. Scott died as an infant in 1959, and David James died in 2020, while Shauna and Amy survived their father.
What was Robert Redford net worth?
Celebrity Net Worth estimated his net worth at 200 million dollars at the time of his death. The figure is an attributed estimate rather than an official valuation, and it reflects his acting, directing, producing and Sundance business interests.
What are Robert Redford best movies?
His best known films include Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, The Way We Were, All the President’s Men, The Natural and Out of Africa. As a director, his most acclaimed film was Ordinary People, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Final Thoughts
Robert Redford belonged to a generation of screen greats that included Gene Hackman, and like Hackman he was admired as much by fellow actors as by audiences. What set Redford apart was the way he refused to let stardom be the whole story, because he kept building, directing and defending the things he believed in. He was a movie star, a director, a founder and an activist, and he managed to be all of those things without losing the quiet centre that made him believable on screen.
