Robert Redford, the celebrated actor, director, and champion of independent cinema, died Tuesday, September 16, 2025, at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah. He was 89. The news was confirmed by his publicist, Cindi Berger, who said Redford passed away "at Sundance in the mountains of Utah – the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved," according to the Associated Press and BBC. No cause of death was provided, but tributes poured in from across the entertainment world and beyond, hailing Redford as a "true Hollywood legend" and a "tremendously influential cultural figure."
Redford’s career was nothing short of remarkable, spanning more than six decades and leaving a lasting imprint on both mainstream Hollywood and the world of independent film. With his wavy blond hair, boyish grin, and magnetic charisma, he rose to fame in the 1960s and quickly became one of the biggest stars of the 1970s. His performances in classics like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Sting (1973), and All the President’s Men (1976) cemented his status as a leading man, but Redford was always determined to be more than just a handsome face.
Redford’s filmography reads like a greatest hits of American cinema. He played everything from Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward in All the President’s Men to a shipwrecked sailor in All is Lost (2013), a role that earned him some of the best reviews of his career. He was a mountain man in Jeremiah Johnson, a double agent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and a middle-aged baseball slugger in The Natural (1984). He shared the screen with legends like Jane Fonda, Meryl Streep, and Tom Cruise, but his most famous partnership was with Paul Newman. Their warm, teasing friendship off-screen translated into box office gold in films like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting, the latter earning Redford a Best Actor Oscar nomination.
Yet, as Redford’s fame grew, he set his sights beyond acting. In 1980, he made his directorial debut with Ordinary People, a family drama that won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Redford. The film’s nuanced portrayal of grief and family dysfunction set it apart, with critic Roger Ebert noting Redford’s "even-handed treatment of the characters" as a defining quality. Redford’s directing career continued with acclaimed films like The Milagro Beanfield War, A River Runs Through It, Quiz Show, and The Horse Whisperer. In 2002, he received an honorary Oscar for his contributions to the industry, with the Academy calling him "inspiration to independent and innovative filmmakers everywhere."
Perhaps Redford’s most enduring legacy is the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival, which he founded in the 1980s to nurture new talent and provide a platform for independent voices. As he told the Associated Press in 2018, "For me, the word to be underscored is ‘independence.’ 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."
Sundance quickly became the beating heart of the indie film world, launching the careers of Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, Paul Thomas Anderson, Darren Aronofsky, and many others. Park City, Utah, where Redford had initially hoped to open a ski resort, was transformed into a mecca for filmmakers and cinephiles each winter. As the festival’s reputation grew, so did its influence—and, inevitably, its commercial appeal. Redford remained steadfast in his commitment to diversity and discovery, telling the AP in 2004, "We have never, ever changed our policies for how we program our festival. It’s always been built on diversity."
By 2025, the festival had outgrown its Park City home. Organizers announced that it would move to Boulder, Colorado, starting in 2027. Redford, who attended the University of Colorado Boulder, supported the change, stating, "Change is inevitable, we must always evolve and grow, which has been at the core of our survival."
Redford’s activism extended far beyond the screen. He was a tireless advocate for environmental causes, inspired by his memories of Los Angeles transforming into a city of smog and freeways. He lobbied for the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, pushed for land conservation in Utah, and served on the board of the Natural Resources Defense Council. In 2015, he addressed the United Nations, urging action on climate change. As he told ThinkProgress, "I’ve given up the idea that I can really change anything, and I just do the best I can. It’s either that or do nothing, and we know that nothing doesn’t work."
Redford’s early life was shaped by both hardship and artistic ambition. Born Charles Robert Redford Jr. on August 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California, he grew up in Van Nuys in a "lower working class" neighborhood. He attended college on a baseball scholarship but was expelled after his freshman year, following his mother’s death. He studied art in Europe before settling in New York, where he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and made his Broadway debut in the late 1950s. His early television appearances included roles on The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
Despite his later fame, Redford never forgot his roots or the importance of giving back. His sense of independence and rebellion—what he called his "outlaw sensibility"—drove him to break free from Hollywood conventions and champion stories that might otherwise go untold. "The idea of the outlaw has always been very appealing to me," he said in 2018. "From the time I was just a kid, I was always trying to break free of the bounds that I was stuck with, and always wanted to go outside."
Redford was married twice, most recently to artist and environmental activist Sibylle Szaggars. He had four children, two of whom—Scott Anthony and James Redford—predeceased him. His life was marked not just by professional triumphs but also by personal loss, which he channeled into his art and activism.
Tributes have poured in since his passing. Filmmaker Ron Howard called him a "tremendously influential cultural figure," while Meryl Streep, his Out of Africa co-star, said, "one of the lions has passed." Actor Robin Wright, who worked with Redford on The Conspirator, remembered him as an "icon that's going to be greatly missed." Even President Trump, speaking before traveling to the UK, remarked, "Robert Redford was great. He had a series of years that he was—there was nobody better."
Redford’s legacy is woven into the fabric of American cinema, independent film, and environmental advocacy. He leaves behind a body of work that will inspire generations to come, and a spirit of independence that forever changed the industry he loved.
