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Robert Redford, Legendary Actor and Director, Dies at 89

The Oscar-winner passed away in his sleep at home in Utah.

Robert Redford, the iconic Hollywood actor and director, has died at the age of 89.

He passed away at his home in Utah on Tuesday morning, according to publicist Cindi Berger. Berger did not disclose a specific cause but said Redford died in his sleep.

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“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. He will be missed greatly,” Berger said in a statement to CNN. “The family requests privacy.”

Redford, best-known for his roles in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President’s Men, became a director after solidifying himself as one of Hollywood’s most recognizable leading men.

After evolving from golden boy heartthrob to elder statesman of American cinema, he threw his weight behind environmental causes, championing conservation and pushing back against industrial pollution.

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He moved to Utah in 1961. There, he led efforts to preserve the natural landscape of the state and the American West more generally.

After breaking through on Broadway, he came to prominence with screen roles in the 1960s including Barefoot in the Park and then his iconic performance in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

The latter cemented his rakish charm opposite Paul Newman and set Redford up for a decade of dominance in the 70s. The Sting won the Academy Award for best picture, and he scored hits with other performances in All the President’s Men, The Way We Were, and The Candidate.

He made his directorial debut with Ordinary People in 1980. The family drama stunned critics and earned him the best director Academy Award. It also picked up the Oscar for best picture.

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Redford later founded the Sundance Institute in 1981, which became a launchpad for new voices in cinema. The institute’s annual Sundance Film Festival is now the biggest independent film festival in the U.S.

Later in life, he threw himself into environmental activism, saying in 2018 that his movie that year, The Old Man & The Gun, would be his last.

“Never say never, but I pretty well concluded that this would be it for me in terms of acting ... because I’ve been doing it since I was 21,” Redford said at the time.

“I thought, ‘Well, that’s enough.’ And why not go out with something that’s very upbeat and positive?”

However, he had a 30-second cameo on the season three premiere of Dark Winds. The AMC thriller, which follows the lives of Navajo tribal police officers in the 1970s, was executive-produced by Redford. Prior to that, the last time Redford appeared on screen was in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.

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