Robert Redford facts: Actor's age, wife, children, movies and career explained

16 September 2025, 13:49

Robert Redford was one of the greatest Hollywood actors of all time.

Robert Redford was widely regarded as one of the most influential and respected figures in Hollywood and beyond.

The actor, director, producer, and environmentalist was best known for his roles in classic films such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, All the President’s Men, and Out of Africa.

He won an Oscar for directing Ordinary People in 1980 and received an honorary lifetime achievement Oscar in 2002.

• Robert Redford dies, aged 89
• Barbra Streisand reveals why Robert Redford initially said no to starring opposite her: 'I was heartbroken'

Redford was also known for being the founder of the Sundance Film Festival, which showcases independent films and filmmakers from around the world, and for being a vocal advocate for environmental and political causes, such as climate change, renewable energy, and conservation.

Redford announced his retirement from acting in 2018, after starring in The Old Man & the Gun. He did, however, later make a cameo appearance in the TV show Dark Winds, on which he was an executive producer.

1. How old was Robert Redford?

   

   Robert Redford was 89 years old when he died in September, 2025.

   Redford was born on August 18, 1936 in Santa Monica, California to parents were Martha Woodruff Redford (née Hart) and Charles Robert Redford Sr.

   His mother died when he was 18 years old. His father was a milkman-turned-accountant from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and he died in 1991.

   He has a paternal half-brother named William, from his father’s second marriage.

2. How did Robert Redford get his start in acting?

   

   Robert Redford began his acting career on stage and television in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and made his Broadway debut in the play Tall Story in 1959.

   He also appeared in several TV shows, such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, and Route 66.

   His breakthrough role was in Neil Simon’s Broadway hit Barefoot in the Park in 1963, which led to his film debut in War Hunt and subsequent success as a leading man in Hollywood.

3. What are Robert Redford's most famous movies?

   

   Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) - Off the CliffScene (3/5) | Movieclips

   Some of his most famous movies are:

   • The Sting (1973), a comedy-crime film co-starring Paul Newman and Robert Shaw
   • All the President's Men (1976), a political thriller based on the Watergate scandal, co-starring Dustin Hoffman
   • Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), a Western biopic co-starring Paul Newman and Katharine Ross
   • The Natural (1984), a sports drama about a baseball player with supernatural talent, co-starring Robert Duvall and Glenn Close
   • The Candidate (1972), a satire about a young politician running for the U.S. Senate, co-starring Peter Boyle and Melvyn Douglas
   • The Way We Were (1973), a romantic drama co-starring Barbra Streisand and Bradford Dillman
   • Three Days of the Condor (1975), a spy thriller co-starring Faye Dunaway and Max von Sydow
   • Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), a superhero film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
   • The Old Man & the Gun (2018), a crime comedy based on the true story of a notorious bank robber, co-starring Casey Affleck and Sissy Spacek
   • All Is Lost (2013), a survival drama in which he plays a lone sailor stranded at sea
   • Indecent Proposal (1993), a drama about a married couple who accept a million-dollar offer from a billionaire to spend one night with the wife, co-starring Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson
   • Out of Africa (1985), an epic romance based on the memoir of Karen Blixen, co-starring Meryl Streep and Klaus Maria Brandauer
   • Sneakers (1992), a comedy-thriller about a team of security experts who are blackmailed into stealing a mysterious device, co-starring Dan Aykroyd, Sidney Poitier, and River Phoenix
   • Spy Game (2001), an action thriller about a CIA veteran who tries to rescue his former protégé from a Chinese prison, co-starring Brad Pitt and Catherine McCormack
   • The Electric Horseman (1979), a western comedy about a former rodeo star who steals a prized horse and rides across the country, co-starring Jane Fonda and Willie Nelson

4. Was Robert Redford married and does he have kids?

   

   Robert Redford was married twice and had four children.

   His first wife was Lola Van Wagenen, whom he married in 1958 and divorced in 1985.

   They had four children together: Scott, Shauna, James, and Amy. Scott died of SIDS in 1959 and James died of cancer in 2020.

   His second wife was Sibylle Szaggars, whom he married in 2009. They were been together since 1996 until his death in 2025. Sibylle is a German-born environmental artist.

   

   Robert's son James Redford was a documentary filmmaker and environmentalist. He made films about topics such as dyslexia, toxic chemicals, and clean energy.

   He also co-founded the Redford Center, a nonprofit organization that supports environmental and social justice filmmakers. He was married to Kyle Redford and had two children, Dylan and Lena.

   

   Robert's daughter Shauna Redford is a painter, and is married to Eric Schlosser, a journalist and author of Fast Food Nation. They have two children, Mica and Conor.

   Shauna has exhibited her paintings in various galleries and museums and also collaborated with her father and siblings on some film projects.

   

   Robert's daughter Amy Redford is an actress and filmmaker. She has directed and produced several films, such as The Guitar, The Last Confederate, and The Sound of Silence.

   She has also appeared in movies and TV shows, such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Sopranos, and This Revolution.

   

5. When did Robert Redford pass away?

   Robert Redford died on Tuesday, September 16, aged 89.

   The actor's death was announced by a representative, who shared that Robert died at his home "at Sundance in the mountains of Utah – the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved."

   "He will be missed greatly," they added.