Robert Redford – Hollywood's golden boy with Midas touch

Actor-director dies in his sleep at his Utah residence at age 89

LOS ANGELES:

Cinema legend Robert Redford, the tousled-haired heartthrob whose career spanned six decades and who left an indelible mark as both actor and director, died early Tuesday morning at his home in Utah. He was 89.

Redford passed away in his sleep at his Sundance residence in the Utah mountains, surrounded by family, according to his publicist Cindi Berger, chief executive of Rogers & Cowan PMK. A specific cause was not disclosed.

"Robert Redford passed away on September 16, 2025, at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah — the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved," Berger said in a statement.

Born Charles Robert Redford Jr. on August 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California, he was the son of an accountant. His mother died in 1955, a year after he finished high school.

Initially a talented baseball player, he won a scholarship to the University of Colorado but lost it within a year due to heavy drinking. He spent time travelling through Europe before enrolling at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1959.

After television appearances, Redford broke through on the big screen with Jane Fonda in 'Barefoot in the Park' (1967). His career took flight with 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' (1969), where he played the affable outlaw alongside Paul Newman. The film became an instant classic, cementing Redford as Hollywood's golden boy and establishing a lifelong friendship with Newman.

The pair reunited in 'The Sting' (1973), earning Redford his only Academy Award nomination as best actor. By then, he was a household name, appearing in major films including 'The Great Gatsby' (1974), 'Three Days of the Condor' (1975), and the acclaimed political thriller 'All the President's Men' (1976), where he portrayed journalist Bob Woodward, chronicling the Watergate scandal.

Redford's career behind the camera proved equally significant. His directorial debut, 'Ordinary People' (1980), won four Oscars, including best director. He went on to direct 'A River Runs Through It' (1992), starring a young Brad Pitt, and the Oscar-nominated 'Quiz Show' (1994).

In front of the camera, his performances continued to resonate. He starred in 'The Natural' (1984), the epic romance 'Out of Africa' (1985) opposite Meryl Streep, and decades later delivered a gripping solo turn in 'All Is Lost' (2013). He embraced diverse roles, from Marvel villain Alexander Pierce in 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' (2014) to a cameo in 'Avengers: Endgame' (2019).

Redford's influence extended far beyond Hollywood. In 1985 he launched the Sundance Film Festival, a platform for independent filmmakers disenchanted with Hollywood's commercialism. The festival became a springboard for talents like Jim Jarmusch, Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh. "Had I given in to living in the (Hollywood) system, I don't know that I would be here right now," he reflected in 2013.

An outspoken liberal and committed environmentalist, Redford campaigned tirelessly to preserve Utah's landscapes and natural resources. His political thrillers and festival initiatives reflected his belief in film as a vehicle for social change.

In 2007 he lamented the decline in political accountability: "If you look at 'All The President's Men' and what it was saying about the relationship between the media and government and the corporate powers, and then look where we are now, it's worse than it was."

Redford was honoured repeatedly for his contributions. In 2002 he received an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement, with Barbra Streisand calling him "the intellectual, the artist, the cowboy." In 2019, French producer Alain Terzian awarded him France's equivalent of an Oscar, saying: "Few careers have had such an impact on the history of cinema."

Tributes poured in following news of his death. "One of the lions has passed. Rest in peace my lovely friend," Meryl Streep said in a statement. US President Donald Trump praised him as "great," remarking that "Redford had a series of years where there was nobody better."

Redford's personal life was marked by both love and loss. With his first wife, Lola Van Wagenen, he had four children, one of whom died in infancy. In 2009 he married German artist Sibylle Szaggars, his longtime partner.

By the time of his death, Redford had become more than just an actor or director — he was a symbol of American cinema itself: an outlaw, a dreamer, an independent spirit who shaped the industry on his own terms.

The "Sundance Kid" may have ridden into legend decades ago, but Robert Redford's legacy, much like the mountains he cherished in Utah, remains towering and eternal.