Screen legend Robert Redford has died at the age of 89.
The Oscar-winner died in his sleep on Tuesday at his home in Utah, outside of Provo, The New York Times reported.
The announcement of his death was made by Cindi Berger, the chief executive of the publicity firm Rogers & Cowan PMK.
Redford was one of the top Hollywood leading men for decades, appearing in blockbusters such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President’s Men.
His first big break came in 1963, when he starred on Broadway in Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park, which he would later reprise.
He often starred alongside many of Hollywood’s leading ladies at the time, like Barbra Streisand in The Way We Were in 1973, and Jane Fonda in the 1967 film, Barefoot in the Park.
The actor began directing later in life and won an Oscar for Ordinary People in 1980.
He founded the nonprofit Sundance Institute in 1981, which became a staple in the arts world for years to come.
In 1984, he transformed a struggling film festival into what’s now known as The Sundance Film Festival, in Park City, Utah.
It was a home for budding filmmakers to make a statement, famously featuring directors like Quentin Tarantino, Ava DuVernay, James Wan, and Darren Aronofsky.
The festival also became a place to showcase documentaries that involved serious topics, about things like climate change and reproductive rights.
However, as the festival grew more and more popular over the years, Redford spoke out against the commercialization of the event.
‘I want the ambush marketers — the vodka brands and the gift-bag people and the Paris Hiltons — to go away forever,’ Redford told a reporter during the 2012 festival, according to The New York Times.
He also continued to act later in life, as he played Bill Bryson in A Walk In The Woods in 2015, and John Gage in 1993’s Indecent Proposal.
Throughout his career, Redford won countless awards and accolades.
In 1981, he won an Oscar for Best Director for his part in Ordinary People.
His 1994 movie, Quiz Show, was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Director at the 1995 Oscar Awards.
Redford also won multiple Golden Globe Awards, including Best Director for Ordinary People in 1981.
In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded Redford as a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is America’s highest civilian honor.
Typically, it is awarded to ‘individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.’
Throughout his life, Redford was also a huge advocate for preserving the environment.
He moved to Utah in 1961, telling CNN, ‘I discovered how important nature was in my life, and I wanted to be where nature was extreme and where I thought it could maybe be everlasting.’
Redford was married to historian Lola Van Wagenen from 1958 to 1985, and they shared four children together – sons James and Scott Anthony Redford, and daughters Amy and Shauna Redford.
Sadly, his son James passed away in 2020 after a battle with bile duct cancer, while Scott passed away at only ten weeks old, from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
In 2009, Redford married German artist Sibylle Szaggars.
In a 2024 interview with Orion Magazine, Redford shared his advice for young filmmakers who want to urge their viewers to care about something.
‘Well, good ones. No seriously, it has to be a good story to be a good film. That comes first,’ Redford told the magazine.
‘And I think on the environmental issue right now, the stories need to be encouraging in some way so that people feel motivated or inspired to care or do something about it, so they can envision a better future, which is a big opportunity for screenwriters,’ he continued.
‘We have enough stories about how people and other species are suffering from what we have done to the land and the water and the climate. The result of that is a lot of people don’t believe that anything they do will matter because the problem has gotten too big,’ he shared.
‘But we do need more people to get involved. So, we need to show them why it matters, by telling stories about people who are solving problems, really complicated problems.’
He urged young filmmakers to ‘get involved,’ and to not take it ‘lightly.’
‘Stop long enough to have something sink in with you, so you feel connected to it,’ Redford said.
‘That will give you the energy to stick with it long enough to make change.’
Both of his frequent costars, Streisand and Fonda, had admitted to having crushes on Redford while they were filming.
In 1973, Redford and Barbra Streisand played romantic interests in the hit film, The Way We Were.
The movie chronicled Katie Morosky, who was a politically active, anti-war Jewish woman played played by Streisand, and Hubbell Gardiner, who was described as a ‘WASP,’ played by Redford.
The two first meet in college, but reconnected later in life, when they try to rekindle their romance – but soon realize their differences in views about World War II and McCarthyism played a larger role in their relationship than they thought.
Redford and Streisand had intense chemistry in the movie, with author Robert Hofler, who published the 2023 book The Way We Were, claiming that Streisand was ‘infatuated’ with the actor, even before they had met.
Of course, however, Redford only had eyes for his wife, Van Wagenen, and he and Streisand did not have a romantic relationship.
It was later reported in Hofler’s book that Redford reportedly had to wear two pairs of underwear to ‘protect himself’ when they filmed The Way They Were.
He would star alongside Fonda in 1966’s The Chase and 1967’s Barefoot In The Park.
They also starred in 1979’s The Electric Horseman, and 2017’s romantic Our Souls at Night.
In Barefoot In The Park, Fonda and Redford played newlyweds who have a passionate relationship – but their love becomes tested when they move into a fifth-floor walkup apartment in New York City.
She later admitted in a 2015 interview with The Guardian that she was ‘in love with Redford.’
And, during a 2017 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Fonda admitted that she loved the sex scenes they did together.
‘I live for sex scenes!’ Fonda said at the time. ‘He’s a great kisser. It was fun to kiss him in my 20s and then to kiss him again in my almost 80s.’
Their relationship was completely platonic, as Redford was still married to his wife at the time, and Fonda was married as well – but although it wasn’t romantic, they shared an amazing friendship.
