Robert Redford Bio
Charles Robert Redford Jr. (August 18, 1936 – September 16, 2025) was an American actor, director, and producer, celebrated for his magnetic presence as a leading man during the American New Wave. Across a career spanning more than six decades, Redford earned widespread recognition and numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and five Golden Globe Awards, including a Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994. He also received various honors including the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 1996, the Academy Honorary Award in 2002, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2005, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, and the Honorary César in 2019. Redford began his career on television in the late 1950s, appearing in anthology series such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone. He made his Broadway debut in Neil Simon’s comedy Barefoot in the Park (1963) before taking film roles in War Hunt (1962) and Inside Daisy Clover (1965). He then achieved Hollywood stardom with Barefoot in the Park (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Downhill Racer (1969), Jeremiah Johnson (1972), The Candidate (1972), and The Sting (1973), with the latter earning him an Academy Award nomination. His stardom continued with films such as The Way We Were (1973), The Great Gatsby (1974), Three Days of the Condor (1975), All the President’s Men (1976), The Electric Horseman (1979), The Natural (1984), and Out of Africa (1985). Later credits include Sneakers (1992), Indecent Proposal (1993), All Is Lost (2013), Truth (2015), Our Souls at Night (2017), and The Old Man & the Gun (2018). He also played Alexander Pierce in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), the latter serving as his final on-screen role. Redford made his directorial debut with the family drama Ordinary People (1980), which won four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. His later directing credits include The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), A River Runs Through It (1992), Quiz Show (1994), The Horse Whisperer (1998), and The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000). A major advocate for independent cinema, Redford co-founded the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival in 1978, helping to foster a new generation of filmmakers. Beyond his artistic career, he was noted for his environmental activism, his support of Native American and Indigenous rights, and his advocacy for LGBTQ equality.
Early Life and Background
Charles Robert Redford Jr. was born on August 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California, to Martha Woodruff Redford and Charles Robert Redford Sr., an accountant. He had a paternal half-brother, William, and was of Irish, Scottish, and English ancestry. Redford’s family lived in Van Nuys while his father worked in El Segundo. As a child, he and his family often traveled to Austin to visit his maternal grandfather. Redford credited his environmentalism and love of nature to his childhood in Texas. Redford attended Van Nuys High School, where he was classmates with baseball pitcher Don Drysdale. He described himself as having been a “bad” student, finding inspiration outside the classroom in art and sports. After graduating from high school in 1954, he attended the University of Colorado in Boulder for a year and a half, where he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity. While there, he worked at a restaurant/bar called The Sink. He later studied painting at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and took classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan.
Path to Hollywood
Redford’s acting career began in New York City, where he worked both on stage and in television. His Broadway debut was in a small role in Tall Story (1959), followed by parts in The Highest Tree (1959) and Sunday in New York (1961). His biggest success on Broadway was as the stuffy newlywed husband of Elizabeth Ashley in the original 1963 cast of Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park. Starting in 1960, Redford appeared as a guest star on numerous television drama programs, including Naked City, Maverick, The Untouchables, and The Twilight Zone. Redford made his screen debut in the film adaptation of Tall Story (1960), reprising his Broadway role. After his Broadway success, he was cast in larger feature roles in movies. In 1962, Redford received his second film role in War Hunt and was cast soon after alongside Alec Guinness in the war comedy Situation Hopeless… But Not Serious. In Inside Daisy Clover (1965), which won him a Golden Globe for best new star, he played a bisexual movie star who marries starlet Natalie Wood.
Robert Redford Career
Early Career (1958–1966)
Redford’s acting career began in New York City, where he worked both on stage and in television. His Broadway debut was in a small role in Tall Story (1959), followed by parts in The Highest Tree (1959) and Sunday in New York (1961). His biggest success on Broadway was as the stuffy newlywed husband of Elizabeth Ashley in the original 1963 cast of Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park. Starting in 1960, Redford appeared as a guest star on numerous television drama programs, including Naked City, Maverick, The Untouchables, and The Twilight Zone. Redford made his screen debut in the film adaptation of Tall Story (1960), reprising his Broadway role. After his Broadway success, he was cast in larger feature roles in movies. In 1962, Redford received his second film role in War Hunt and was cast soon after alongside Alec Guinness in the war comedy Situation Hopeless… But Not Serious. In Inside Daisy Clover (1965), which won him a Golden Globe for best new star, he played a bisexual movie star who marries starlet Natalie Wood.
Breakthrough (1967–1979)
Redford achieved Hollywood stardom with Barefoot in the Park (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), and The Sting (1973). The latter earned him an Academy Award nomination. His stardom continued with films such as The Way We Were (1973), The Great Gatsby (1974), and All the President’s Men (1976). The Sting became one of the top-grossing films of all time when adjusted for inflation and it also landed Redford the lone nomination of his career for the Academy Award for Best Actor. The following year he starred in the romantic drama The Great Gatsby, which was also a box office success. In 1974, Redford became the first performer since Bing Crosby in 1946 to have three films in a year’s top-ten-grossing titles. Each year between 1974 and 1976, movie exhibitors voted Redford Hollywood’s top box-office star.
Notable Works and Milestones
Redford’s signature work includes roles in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, and All the President’s Men. He won numerous awards for his performances and was recognized as a leading figure in American cinema.
Robert Redford Award Nominations
Throughout his career, Robert Redford received numerous nominations for prestigious awards, including the Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards.
Robert Redford Awards Won
Robert Redford won several notable awards, including an Academy Award for Best Director for Ordinary People and a BAFTA Award for his role in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Robert Redford Family
Robert Redford married Lola Van Wagenen in Las Vegas on August 9, 1958. The couple had four children: Scott Anthony, Shauna Jean, David James, and Amy Hart. Scott died of sudden infant death syndrome at the age of 2½ months. Shauna is a painter and married to journalist Eric Schlosser. James was a writer and producer who died of cancer in 2020. Amy is an actress, director, and producer. Redford had seven grandchildren.
Personal Life
Redford and Van Wagenen never publicly announced a separation or divorce, but in 1982, it was reported that the pair had been apart for a number of years. In 2009, Redford married Sibylle Szaggars in Hamburg, Germany. He primarily resided at the Sundance Resort in Utah and owned a house in Tiburon, California, which was sold in 2024. He also had a property in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
