Hollywood has lost one of its most enduring icons
Robert Redford, the Academy Award–winning actor, director, and activist whose career stretched across more than six decades, has died at his home in Utah. He passed peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, at the age of 89, his publicist confirmed.
Born in Santa Monica in 1936, Charles Robert Redford Jr. grew up far from the world he would one day come to dominate. His rise to fame in the 1960s and 70s marked the arrival of a new kind of American leading man: rugged, intelligent, and quietly magnetic. Audiences first fell in love with him in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), where his charm and wry humor defined the Sundance Kid for generations. That film was quickly followed by The Sting(1973), an Oscar-winning box office smash that paired him again with Paul Newman, sealing one of the most beloved partnerships in movie history.
Redford’s career only deepened as the decade progressed. In All the President’s Men (1976), he portrayed journalist Bob Woodward in a film that not only entertained but educated, capturing the urgency of investigative reporting during Watergate. These roles reflected more than stardom — they showed his uncanny ability to embody the conscience of his time.
Yet Redford was never content to be only a screen idol. Behind the camera, he revealed a sensitivity and vision that matched his performances. In 1980, his directorial debut, Ordinary People, stunned Hollywood. The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Director, and proved Redford was as powerful a storyteller as he was a performer. His directing career would go on to include acclaimed films such as A River Runs Through It and Quiz Show, each marked by a quiet humanity and a keen eye for moral complexity.
Equally transformative was Redford’s role as founder of the Sundance Film Festival. What began in 1978 as a small gathering for independent filmmakers grew under his stewardship into the most influential showcase for new voices in cinema. Through Sundance, he gave countless directors, actors, and screenwriters their first platform, reshaping the landscape of American film.
Redford’s life was not untouched by tragedy. He was preceded in death by his sons, Scott Anthony and David James. He is survived by his wife of 16 years, Sibylle Szaggars, daughters Shauna Jean and Amy Hart, and seven grandchildren, who now carry forward his family’s story.
Tributes poured in across Hollywood and beyond. Directors, actors, and admirers remembered not only the star who lit up the screen, but the activist who used his platform to champion environmental causes, indigenous rights, and the freedom of artists to tell their stories. One tribute summed it up simply: 💬 “He changed cinema — and in doing so, he changed us.”
Robert Redford leaves behind more than films. He leaves a legacy of storytelling that continues to inspire, a festival that has given voice to generations, and an example of artistry fused with conscience. As Hollywood and the world mourn, we remember not just the actor or the director, but the man who believed cinema could matter — and proved it, again and again.