Robert Redford dead at 89: Wife, children and family of the Hollywood legend

Hollywood has lost one of its greatest icons. Robert Redford, the actor and director who defined generations of cinema, died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 89 on September 16, 2025, at his mountain home in Utah.

His publicist, Cindi Berger, confirmed the news, saying: “He will be missed greatly.

The family requests privacy.”Redford leaves behind a towering career, from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to Ordinary People, but also a deeply personal legacy marked by family, love, and his long partnership with his wife, Sibylle Szaggars.

Meeting Sibylle Szaggars

It was at Sundance Mountain Resort, the same place where Redford nurtured independent cinema, that he met German-born artist Sibylle Szaggars in 1996.

Despite their 20-year age gap, the two forged a connection that would shape the final decades of Redford’s life. They married in Hamburg in 2009, in a quiet ceremony surrounded by close family and friends.

Szaggars built her own reputation as an environmental artist. Her work, she explains, is about awakening “a deeper universal consciousness” tied to the earth. Inspired by travels through indigenous cultures, she developed installations and performances blending nature, art, and activism.

In 2015, she founded The Way of the Rain Inc., a non-profit dedicated to climate awareness through art, with Redford serving as vice president.In a 2014 panel, Szaggars recalled how Redford invited her to dinner early in their courtship. Nervous that she might be quizzed about his films, she spent nights sampling clips of his work, only to discover he was more drawn to the fact she knew little about his career.“It was a wonderful beginning of a relationship,” Redford later said, “because it began as two human beings meeting each other and finding a connection, rather than being coloured by success.”

A family marked by triumph and tragedy

Before Szaggars, Redford was married to historian and activist Lola Van Wagenen. The couple wed in 1958 and had four children together: Shauna, David, Amy, and Scott. Their firstborn, Scott, tragically died of sudden infant death syndrome in 1959. Their son David James, who became a filmmaker and activist, died in 2020 after a long battle with liver cancer.Redford’s daughters, Shauna and Amy, carried the family’s creative spirit forward, Amy in particular as an actress, director, and producer. Through his children, Redford also became the grandfather of seven.Though marked by personal loss, Redford’s family remained a grounding force throughout his life.