Print
Close
Robert Redford dead at 89
By Stephanie Giang-Paunon
Published September 16, 2025
Legendary actor Robert Redford has died. He was 89.
"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 told Fox News Digital. "He will be missed greatly. The family requests privacy."
The Hollywood icon was best known for classics like "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Sting."
Robert Redford has passed away. He was 89. (Roy Rochlin/FilmMagic)
Before he became the rugged screen icon of the 1970s, Redford grew up in Santa Monica, California.
Born Charles Robert Redford Jr. on Aug. 18, 1936, the all-American heartthrob started out studying art and chasing a future as a painter before turning to acting—eventually landing at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
Redford made early appearances on "The Twilight Zone," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "The Untouchables" in the late 1950s and early '60s.
As for his Broadway career, Redford landed a breakout role in Neil Simon’s "Barefoot in the Park," first on stage and then on screen alongside Jane Fonda.
During his illustrious career that spanned five decades of film, Redford became an Oscar-winning director as well as an activist. (Herbert Dorfman/Corbis via Getty Images)
During his illustrious career that spanned five decades of film, Redford became an Oscar-winning director as well as an activist.
President Barack Obama presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to actor Robert Redford during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Nov. 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
After skyrocketing to fame in the ’60s, Redford dominated the ’70s box office with back-to-back hits like "The Candidate," "The Way We Were" and "All the President’s Men." He capped off the decade with an Oscar win for best director in 1980 for "Ordinary People," which also took home best picture.
Behind the camera, Redford elevated independent film. He took on gritty roles and built the Sundance Film Festival from the ground up.
Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand filming "The Way We Were," circa 1970, in New York. (Getty Images)
What began as a training ground for undiscovered filmmakers in the mountains of Park City, Utah – where Redford initially planned to open a ski resort – quickly transformed into the most important independent film festival in the world.
"For me, the word to be underscored is ‘independence,’" Redford told the Associated Press in 2018. "I’ve always believed in that word. That’s what led to me eventually wanting to create a category that supported independent artists who weren’t given a chance to be heard.
Legendary actor Robert Redford has died at the age of 89. Redford died at his home in Utah. (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP Images)
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
"The industry was pretty well controlled by the mainstream, which I was a part of. But I saw other stories out there that weren’t having a chance to be told and I thought, ‘Well, maybe I can commit my energies to giving those people a chance.’ As I look back on it, I feel very good about that."
By 2025, the festival had grown so large that organizers announced they would be relocating out of Park City.
Robert Redford and Meryl Streep seen during production for the film "Out Of Africa" in 1985. (Getty Images)
Redford didn’t just play the leading man — he additionally took on politics with the kind of boldness that became his Hollywood signature.
In 1972, Redford took on an American political role in "The Candidate," playing an idealistic U.S. Senate hopeful whose idealism crumbled by the final scene. He delivered one of the most iconic final lines in political cinema, "What do we do now?"
American actor Robert Redford during the filming of 'Downhill Racer', May 1969. (Photo by Ernst Haas/Getty Images) (Ernst Haas/Getty Images)
Four years later, Redford starred as real-life Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward in "All the President’s Men," diving headfirst into the Watergate scandal.
Meanwhile, during Redford's acting career, he shared the screen with Hollywood icons including Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise and Paul Newman.
Robert Redford and Tom Cruise attend the 'Lions For Lambs' premiere during Day 6 of the 2nd Rome Film Festival on October 23, 2007. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
While Redford pulled back from acting in the '80s and '90s to focus on directing and building the indie film scene, he still starred in several popular films. He acted opposite Streep in the 1985 drama "Out of Africa," and nearly 30 years later stunned critics in the survival film "All Is Lost" in 2013.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Robert Redford won an Oscar for best director for "Ordinary People" at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles on March 31, 1981. (AP Photo)
His other directing efforts included "The Horse Whisperer," "The Milagro Beanfield War" and 1994's "Quiz Show," the last of which also earned best picture and director Oscar nominations. In 2002, Redford received an honorary Oscar, with academy organizers citing him as "actor, director, producer, creator of Sundance, inspiration to independent and innovative filmmakers everywhere."
Sibylle Szaggars married husband Robert Redford in 2009 when he was 73 years old. (Daniele Venturelli)
Redford was married twice, most recently to Sibylle Szaggars. He had four children, two of whom have died – Scott Anthony, who died in infancy in 1959, and James Redford, an activist and filmmaker who died in 2020.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/robert-redford-dead-89