Robert Redford, the acclaimed actor and director known for his iconic roles and as the founder of the Sundance Film Festival, passed away on Tuesday morning, September 16, at his residence in Utah. He was 89 years old.
Cindi Berger, Redford’s longtime publicist and CEO of Rogers & Cowan PMK, confirmed his death in a statement. “Robert Redford passed away on September 16, 2025, at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah — the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved,” his representative confirmed. The family has requested privacy.
Born Charles Robert Redford Jr. on August 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California, Redford was the son of Martha Hart and Charles Robert Redford Sr., a milkman who transitioned to an oil company accountant. He was raised in Van Nuys, California, in what he referred to as a lower working-class neighborhood. After completing his education at Van Nuys High School in 1954, he briefly attended the University of Colorado on a partial baseball scholarship before leaving in his sophomore year to travel through Europe, where he studied painting in France, Spain, and Italy.
Upon returning to the United States, Redford enrolled and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City in 1959. That same year, he made his Broadway debut in “Tall Story” and appeared in several popular 1960s television series, including “Perry Mason,” “The Untouchables,” “The Twilight Zone,” and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.”
Redford’s career gained momentum with his role opposite Elizabeth Ashley in the original Broadway production of Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park” in 1963. This success led to film roles, including “Inside Daisy Clover” in 1965, for which he earned a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year. He reprised his Broadway role in the 1967 film adaptation of “Barefoot in the Park” with Jane Fonda, marking the beginning of a frequent collaboration between the two actors.
The 1969 Western “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” in which Redford starred alongside Paul Newman as outlaws in the Wild West, propelled him to stardom. The film was the year’s top-grossing movie and established a notable on-screen partnership. Redford and Newman reunited for “The Sting” in 1973, which became the second-highest-grossing film of that year and earned Redford an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
Throughout the 1970s, Redford appeared in a series of commercially and critically successful films, reinforcing his status as a leading box office draw. His notable performances included the political satire “The Candidate” in 1972, the Western “Jeremiah Johnson” the same year, and the romantic drama “The Way We Were” opposite Barbra Streisand in 1973. He also starred in “The Great Gatsby” in 1974 and “Three Days of the Condor” in 1975.
“All the President’s Men” in 1976 was one of Redford’s most significant films, in which he starred alongside Dustin Hoffman as Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. The film about the Watergate investigation was a commercial success, receiving eight Oscar nominations and winning four. It was added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 2010 for its cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance.
Redford made his directorial debut with “Ordinary People” in 1980, a drama featuring Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, and Timothy Hutton. The film was both financially and critically successful, earning six Oscar nominations and winning four, including Best Picture and Best Director for Redford. He directed eight more feature films, including “A River Runs Through It” (1992), “Quiz Show” (1994), and “The Horse Whisperer” (1998).
Beyond his film career, Redford’s lasting legacy may be the Sundance Institute, which he founded in 1981 at his Utah ski resort. The nonprofit sponsors the annual Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, which showcases independent films and has launched the careers of numerous filmmakers, including Quentin Tarantino, the Coen brothers, and Christopher Nolan. The festival has played a significant role in establishing the American independent film movement.
Redford was also recognized for his environmental activism and progressive political views, which he developed during his travels in Europe as a young man. Throughout his life, he was a strong advocate for environmental issues and supported the rights of Native Americans and the LGBTQ community. In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contributions to American culture and his advocacy for environmental conservation.
In his personal life, Redford first married Lola Van Wagenen, with whom he had four children. Their son Scott died at two and a half months from sudden infant death syndrome in 1959, and another son, Jamie, died of cancer in October 2020. He married his second wife, Sibylle Szaggars, in 2009. He is survived by his wife and two daughters, Shauna and Amy.
Redford announced in 2018 that “The Old Man and the Gun” would be his final acting role, marking the end of a career spanning over six decades. Throughout his career, he received two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, including the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994, and an honorary Oscar in 2002.
