Robert Redford, the legendary leading man actor and Oscar-winning director, has died. He was 89.
The founder of the Sundance Institute died early Tuesday morning at home in Utah, TheWrap has learned.
“Robert Redford passed away on Sept. 16, 2025, at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah — the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved,” a representative for Redford shared in a statement. “He will be missed greatly. The family requests privacy.”
A Hollywood icon in every sense of the term, Redford got his start in New York City on the stage and small screen, earning an Emmy nomination for ABC’s “The Voice of Charlie Pont” in 1962. His classically handsome good looks made him a breakout early, but a key decision marked a turning point in his career as he turned down “The Graduate” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” in favor of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” fearful of being pigeon-holed as the blonde leading man.
It was that 1969 classic opposite Paul Newman that set Redford on the trajectory that would include more iconic — and sardonic — roles in films like “The Sting” and “The Natural.” And, of course, as Bob Woodward in Alan J. Pakula’s classic 1976 Watergate drama “All the President’s Men.”
Redford would effortlessly move between romantic lead and charming do-gooder, starring in films like “Jeremiah Johnson,” “The Way We Were,” “Three Days of the Condor” and “The Great Gatsby” and securing legions of fans in the process. What set Redford apart was his irresistible appeal to men and women alike — the old adage “men want to be him, women want to be with him” never felt more apt.
But Redford also expanded his career behind the camera, and in 1980 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for his directorial debut “Ordinary People.” Redford was also nominated for Best Actor for “The Sting,” as well as both Best Director and Best Picture for “Quiz Show,” ultimately getting an Honorary Oscar in 2002.
The entertainer was also the recipient of a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globes, a SAG Life Achievement Award, a Kennedy Center Honor, a Presidential Medal of Freedom and an Honorary César, just to name a few.
As if that wasn’t enough, Redford revolutionized the independent film world by founding the Sundance Institute in 1981 as a place for independent filmmakers and other artists to introduce their new works to the world. Perhaps his greatest legacy, the Sundance Film Festival now stands as one of the most essential and influential launching pads for independent cinema. A place where Quentin Tarantino, Richard Linklater, Ryan Coogler, Damien Chazelle, Steven Soderbergh and countless other filmmakers got their start.
“Our film, ‘CODA,’ came to the attention of everyone because of Sundance,” Marlee Matlin wrote on Tuesday of the impact the festival had on the Best Picture-winning 2021 film. “And Sundance happened because of Robert Redford. A genius has passed. RIP Robert.”
Through the 2024 iteration of Sundance, Redford continued to attend every year, nestled in Park City, Utah. It’s no small irony that the 2026 iteration of the festival will be its last in Utah — mere months after Redford’s death — with the festival moving to Boulder, Colorado in 2027.
“Bob’s vision of a space and a platform for independent voices launched a movement that, over four decades later, has inspired generations of artists and redefined cinema in the U.S. and around the world,” the Sundance Institute said in a statement. “Beyond his enormous contributions to culture at large, we will miss his generosity, clarity of purpose, curiosity, rebellious spirit, and his love for the creative process.”
In later years, Redford’s onscreen roles became fewer and further between but he earned no lack of acclaim, especially for his nearly wordless performance in 2013’s survival drama “All Is Lost.” Indeed, Redford largely made a habit of starring in films for indie or up-and-coming filmmakers like that movie’s J.C. Chandor, David Lowery’s “The Old Man and the Gun” and Charlie McDowell’s “The Discovery.” His most high-profile later roles were that of Alexander Pierce in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Avengers: Endgame” and as Dan Rather in 2015’s “Truth.”
Tributes flooded in from Hollywood on Tuesday as word of Redford’s death spread, with Ron Howard calling him an “artistic gamechanger.”
“Thank you Robert Redford, a tremendously influential cultural figure for the creative choices made as an actor/producer/director & for launching the Sundance Film Festival which supercharged America’s Independent Film movement,” he said.
Born Charles Robert Redford Jr. on Aug. 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, he is survived by wife Sibylle Szaggars, two children and several grandchildren.
