Oscar-winning actor-director Robert Redford, known for 'All the President's Men' passes away at 89

Robert Redford, the Oscar-winning actor, director and environmental activist who became one of Hollywood’s most enduring stars, has died at the age of 89.

According to his publicity firm Rogers & Cowan PMK, Redford died in his sleep at his home in Provo, Utah, The New York Times reported.

Redford’s career stretched across five decades, with standout performances in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Sting (1973), The Way We Were (1973), and All the President’s Men (1976). His mix of good looks, charm and understated style made him one of the most bankable actors of his generation.

Although he never won an Oscar for acting, Redford earned the Academy Award for Best Director for Ordinary People (1980), which also won Best Picture. In 2001, he was presented with an honorary Oscar for his contribution to cinema.

In 1978, Redford founded the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, which grew into the world’s premier showcase for independent films. Through the Sundance Institute, he supported new voices in filmmaking long before indie cinema became mainstream.

Redford was also deeply committed to environmental causes, lending his support to groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council and the National Wildlife Federation.

Later in his career, he reached a new generation of audiences by joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, playing Alexander Pierce in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014).

Born on August 18, 1937, in Santa Monica, California, Redford grew up in what he described as a “lower working-class family.” He first pursued art, studying painting in Europe and New York, before switching paths to acting. By 1959, he was performing on Broadway, eventually making his way to Hollywood.

Despite his fame, Redford often spoke of his discomfort with celebrity. “People have been so busy relating to how I look, it’s a miracle I didn’t become a self-conscious blob of protoplasm. It’s not easy being Robert Redford,” he once told New York magazine. He also spoke fondly of his retreat in Utah, remarking, “Some people have analysis. I have Utah.”

Redford remained active in film into his later years, reuniting with Jane Fonda in Our Souls at Night (2017). At the time, he suggested it would be one of his final acting roles, as he planned to return to painting and focus on directing.

From his breakthrough roles with Paul Newman to his championing of independent cinema, Redford leaves behind a legacy that transformed Hollywood and inspired generations of filmmakers and actors.