Robert Redford, the American actor, director, producer, and champion of independent cinema, died on September 16, 2025 at the age of 89 at his home in Sundance, Utah. He passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones.
His last appearance on screen was a cameo in the premiere episode of Season 3 of the TV series Dark Winds, aired in March 2025. In that cameo he played a prison inmate sharing a chess game with George R. R. Martin, another executive producer of the show. The scene is brief but memorable.
Short Biography
Charles Robert Redford Jr. was born on August 18, 1936 in Santa Monica, California. He began his career in television in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and by the late 1960s had become a major film star. Some early successes that made him famous were Barefoot in the Park, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting.
He was also a respected director. In 1980 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for Ordinary People. He founded the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival, institutions that have had a huge influence on independent filmmaking.
Redford had a long career spanning more than six decades. In addition to acting and directing, he was active in causes such as environmental protection, and supported indigenous rights and artistic freedom.
List of Some of His Best Films
Here are several of his most highly regarded films, where his acting (or directing) is often considered among his best work:
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
- The Sting (1973)
- All the President’s Men (1976)
- The Way We Were (1973)
- Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
- Out of Africa (as actor)
- Ordinary People (1980) — direction
- A River Runs Through It
- The Natural
- All is Lost
- The Old Man & the Gun (2018) — his last starring role before retirement announcement.
Last modified: September 16, 2025
