Oscar-winning director and actor Robert Redford dies aged 89

The Oscar winner shot to fame with his turn as the Sundance Kid in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 

Robert Redford pictured in New York in 2015. File picture: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Actor and director Robert Redford, known for films including Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, All the President’s Men and The Sting, has died aged 89.

Redford, who was known for his activism, as well as his dashing good looks, also directed films such as Ordinary People, for which he won an Oscar, and A River Runs Through It.

He also founded the Sundance Film Festival, which has taken place annually in Utah in the US since 1978.

A statement from his publicist Cindi Berger, chairman and chief executive of talent agency Rogers and Cowan PMK, said: “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. The family requests privacy.” 

Redford was a Hollywood golden boy in the 1970s, after his leading roles in Barefoot In The Park, with Jane Fonda, and Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, in which he starred opposite Paul Newman.

He was nominated for an Oscar for his role in 1973’s The Sting, which reunited him with Newman, and starred opposite Barbra Streisand in The Way We Were, before taking on the role of Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward in Watergate film All the President’s Men in 1976.

But he started to eschew his leading man status and turned his hand to directing, winning an Oscar for his directorial debut Ordinary People.

He was a passionate environmentalist and advocate for independent cinema, which led to his creation of the Sundance Institute, known for its annual film festival.

Most recently, he ventured into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, playing double agent Alexander Pierce.