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Screen icon Robert Redford, the Oscar-winning actor, director, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival, has died at the age of 89.
The news was confirmed in a statement by his publicist, Cindi Berger, who said he died in his sleep “surrounded by those he loved,” at his home in Utah. A cause of death was not disclosed.
Redford shot to global fame opposite Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and went on to deliver acclaimed performances in The Sting (1973), Three Days of the Condor (1975), and All the President’s Men (1976), among many others.
He made his directorial debut with Ordinary People (1980), which won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Beyond his work on screen, Redford founded the Sundance Institute, which launched the Sundance Film Festival — now the largest and most influential celebration of independent film in the United States.
He is survived by his two daughters, Shauna and Amy, and his wife, Sibylle Szaggars Redford, the 68-year-old German-born multimedia artist whose environmental work as been exhibited around the world.
He had four children with his first wife, Lola Van Wagenen. One son, Scott, died of sudden death syndrome when he was just 10 weeks old. David died from cancer in 2020 at the age of 58.
Hailed as Hollywood’s former golden boy, tributes have poured in for the late star.
Follow live updates below
How Sundance Film Festival became Robert Redford’s ultimate legacy
Greg Evans charts how Redford turned the former “US Film Festival” around into the global success it is today.
Tom Murray17 September 2025 12:27
Cannes Film Festival said Redford had ‘unparalleled elegance’
The Cannes Film Festival paid tribute to Redford.
“Forever Robert Redford. Forever the cowboy, the escapee, the candidate, the prisoner, the Great Gatsby, the con man, the student, the playboy, the loner, the cryptographer, the military man, the reporter, the rodeo champion, the lover, the baseball star, the sailor, the horse whisperer…
“More than 70 roles, nine directed films, the founding of the Sundance Independent Film Festival. And throughout a life dedicated to cinema, an unparalleled elegance in his art, his commitments, and his struggles. Redford was more than a myth: he was a role model.
“Forever Robert Redford, an electric horseman in love with freedom.”
Jacob Stolworthy17 September 2025 11:45
Demi Moore has paid tribute to Robert Redford, with whom she starred in 1993 film Indecent Proposal.
“The world has lost an incredible actor, director, husband, father, friend… Robert’s legacy will live on forever in so many ways and I will carry the many memories we share close to my heart. What I would do for just one more dance.”
(Paramount)
Jacob Stolworthy17 September 2025 11:15
Ethan Hawke says Redford’s ‘legacy remains ingrained in our culture’
Ethan Hawke has paid his respects to Redford.
In a statement per Variety, the Dead Poets Society actor labeled the Hollywood legend “our ultimate champion of independent film, relentless advocate for authentic storytelling and fiercely passionate environmentalist.”
“Robert’s legacy remains ingrained in our culture, transformed by his artistry, activism and the founding of Sundance Institute and Film Festival,” Hawke said.
(Getty)
Jacob Stolworthy17 September 2025 10:34
Robert Redford refused to be a Hollywood pretty-boy – and shaped modern cinema in the process
The legendary movie star, producer, filmmaker and activist, who has died at the age of 89, used his fame wisely and spent his career demonstrating his versatility on screen. But while his loss is great, writes Charlotte O’Sullivan, his fingerprints are all over the industry today:
Greg Evans17 September 2025 10:06
Robert Redford remembered for his deep legacy in environmental activism and Native American advocacy
Redford, who died Tuesday at age 89, was hardly the only liberal activist to emerge out of Hollywood, but few matched his knowledge and focus, his humility and dedication. Fellow actors and leaders of the causes he fought for spoke of his unusually deep legacy, his fight for Native Americans and the environment that began at the height of his stardom.
Shahana Yasmin17 September 2025 09:30
Remembering Robert Redford in photos: the life of the Oscar-winning director and activist
Shahana Yasmin17 September 2025 09:00
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: How Robert Redford and Paul Newman captured Hollywood’s greatest outlaws
The multiple Oscar-winning Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was a groundbreaking revisionist western, with Paul Newman and the late Robert Redford giving a timeless portrayal of a pair of law-breaking adventurers in one of Hollywood’s greatest examples of the “buddy film”.
Although William Goldman was convinced his film script about two American outlaws who fled a posse of Pinkerton detectives and escaped to Bolivia had the potential to be a blockbuster hit, the initial response was disheartening. “Every studio but one rejected it,” Goldman recalled in The Reluctant Storyteller. “One studio head said, ‘Well, I’ll buy it if they don’t go to South America.’ I said, ‘But they went there!’ He said, ‘I don’t give a s***. All I know is John Wayne don’t run away.’”
The true story of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The 1969 movie wasn’t an immediate success with critics, yet it charmed the public. As Robert Redford dies aged 89, Martin Chilton tells the tale of one of Hollywood’s best buddy films and the two outlaws who inspired it
Shahana Yasmin17 September 2025 08:30
Marisa Tomei on Redford: ‘He showed up for the world’
Marisa Tomei shared a heartfelt tribute to Robert Redford, calling him “the Sundance Kid, waving one last time.”
Tomei recalled a moment from early in Ms. Magazine’s history, when Redford’s PR office shared a building with the publication. “He volunteered his gorgeous back for their Oct ’75 cover, knowing the attention would help,” she wrote.
“Always lending his weight to something bigger than himself,” Tomei added. “A legend in every sense.
Shahana Yasmin17 September 2025 08:15
Classic films, pranks and a crushed Porsche: Robert Redford and Paul Newman’s rare friendship
Robert Redford and Paul Newman enjoyed a “bromance” long before the word had even been coined. Here’s a look back at their storied friendship – and the sports cars they crushed into a cube along the way:
Kevin Perry17 September 2025 07:56