Robert Redford
“Golden-haired star turned filmmaker who championed independent voices in American cinema.”
In 1969, Robert Redford co-starred with Paul Newman in 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,' the film that turned him into a major box-office star and forever fixed his golden-boy screen image. The Sundance character later inspired the name of his Utah ski property and the Sundance Institute he founded.
California Beginnings
Born Charles Robert Redford Jr. in Santa Monica in 1936, he drifted through art studies in Europe before turning to acting. He honed his craft on the New York stage in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Hollywood Stardom
After 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' in 1969, Redford became one of the most bankable leading men of the 1970s. Hits like 'The Sting,' 'The Way We Were,' and 'All the President's Men' cemented his stardom.
Director and Champion of Independent Film
Redford won the Best Director Oscar for his 1980 debut 'Ordinary People.' Through the Sundance Institute he founded in 1978, he became the leading patron of American independent cinema until his death in 2025.
Career Timeline
- 1936Born in Santa Monica, California
- 1959Makes Broadway debut as a stage actor
- 1967Stars in film 'Barefoot in the Park'
- 1969'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' makes him a star
- 1973Hits with 'The Sting' and 'The Way We Were'
- 1976Plays Bob Woodward in 'All the President's Men'
- 1978Founds the Sundance Institute
- 1980Wins Best Director Oscar for 'Ordinary People'
- 1985Stars opposite Meryl Streep in 'Out of Africa'
- 2002Receives Academy Honorary Award
- 2025Dies at his Sundance, Utah home aged 89
Biggest Hits
- He named his Utah ski resort 'Sundance' after his 'Butch Cassidy' character, then built the famous independent-film festival around it.
- Despite being one of cinema's biggest stars, he never won a competitive acting Oscar, taking his only competitive statuette for directing.
The Moment You Remember
He and Paul Newman leaping from a cliff into a river in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, grinning even as the bullets chased them, captured the easy, doomed camaraderie that made the pair beloved.
Portrait: Ken Dare, Los Angeles Times · CC BY 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons