What happened?
Hollywood icon Robert Redford, the actor, director, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival, has died at age 89. His publicist, Cindi Berger of Rogers & Cowan PMK, confirmed Redford passed away peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday morning at his home in the mountains of Utah, surrounded by loved ones. No cause of death was given.
“Robert Redford passed away on September 16, 2025, at his home at Sundance — the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved. He will be missed greatly,” Berger said in a statement. “The family requests privacy.”
A career that defined an era
Redford became one of the most recognizable stars of the 1960s and 1970s, known for his charisma and good looks in classics like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Natural (1984), and All the President’s Men (1976). He consistently sought complex, darker roles, breaking away from the typical matinee-idol mold.
Behind the camera, Redford earned acclaim as a director. His 1980 drama Ordinary People won him the Academy Award for Best Director, the first of nine directorial efforts. He also directed A River Runs Through It (1992) and remained active in film for decades, appearing as late as 2018 in The Old Man & the Gun.
The Sundance legacy
Perhaps Redford’s most lasting impact came from his role in shaping independent cinema. In 1981, he founded the Sundance Institute, which grew into the world-renowned Sundance Film Festival. The annual gathering in Park City, Utah, has been a launching pad for countless filmmakers and is considered the premier showcase for independent film.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox paid tribute on social media, writing: “Through Sundance and his devotion to conservation, he shared Utah with the world. Today we honor his life, his vision, and his lasting contribution to our state.”
Beyond Hollywood
Redford was also a lifelong activist and environmentalist. He moved to Utah in the early 1960s and devoted much of his later life to conservation efforts. In 2020, he publicly urged stronger action on climate change as wildfires devastated the American West.
His personal life was not without tragedy. In 2020, Redford’s son James Redford, a filmmaker and activist, died from cancer at age 58.
Remembering a legend
In a career spanning more than six decades, Redford earned two Academy Awards, including an honorary Oscar in 2002, and three Golden Globe Awards, including the prestigious Cecil B. DeMille Award. To generations of actors, directors, and fans, he remained a symbol of creative independence and artistic risk-taking.
