The actor and director died in his Utah home at the age of 89.
Actor, filmmaker, and activist Robert Redford has died. Publicist Cindi Berger announced his death in a statement released to press, noting that the 89-year-old screen legend passed away “at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah — the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved.”
Born in California in 1936, Redford first hit the screen in 1960 with a string of appearances in TV series such as Maverick and Perry Mason, with his first film role as a basketball player in that year’s Tall Story going uncredited. His star rose steadily, but his breakthrough came in 1967 with the romantic comedy, Barefoot In The Park, which saw him opposite Tall Story star Jane Fonda.
However, it was 1969’s Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, which co-starred Paul Newman, that really put him on the map, the comedic Western striking a chord with mainstream audiences and the counterculture alike. He reteamed with Newman again to play a con artist in 1973’s The Sting, a performance that netted Redford his only Oscar nomination for acting.
He won Best Director for his first feature, though, with 1980’s Ordinary People also scoring Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor for Timothy Hutton. Over the coming years, Redford’s efforts as a director and producer gave us the likes of A River Runs Through It, Quiz Show, Lions For Lambs, and The Company You Keep.
But his indelible contribution to screen culture is undoubtedly his role in creating the Sundance Film Festival. Beginning as the Utah/US Film Festival in 1978 before being renamed for Redford’s eponymous character, Sundance plays a vital role in championing and supporting independent cinema to this day.
While Redford retired from acting in 2018 following his soulful performance in that year’s The Old Man And The Gun, his last screen appearance came in 2025, with an uncredited cameo in an episode of the crime series, Dark Winds. Redford was an executive producer on the series.
He is survived by his wife, Sibylle Szaggars, four children, and an immortal legacy.
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