Background and career
Charles Robert Redford Jr. (August 18, 1936 – September 16, 2025) was an American actor, director, and producer, celebrated for his magnetic presence as a leading man during the American New Wave. Across a career spanning more than six decades, Redford earned widespread recognition and numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and five Golden Globe Awards, including a Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994. He also earned various other honors, including the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 1996, the Academy Honorary Award in 2002, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2005, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, and the Honorary César in 2019.
Redford began his career on television in the late 1950s, appearing in anthology series such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone. He made his Broadway debut in Neil Simon's comedy Barefoot in the Park (1963) before taking film roles in War Hunt (1962) and Inside Daisy Clover (1965). Redford achieved Hollywood stardom with Barefoot in the Park (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Downhill Racer (1969), Jeremiah Johnson (1972), The Candidate (1972), and The Sting (1973), with the last earning him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Redford’s stardom continued with films such as The Way We Were (1973), The Great Gatsby (1974), Three Days of the Condor (1975), The Great Waldo Pepper (1975), All the President's Men (1976), The Electric Horseman (1979), The Natural (1984) and Out of Africa (1985). Later credits include Sneakers (1992), Indecent Proposal (1993), An Unfinished Life (2005), All Is Lost (2013), Truth (2015), Our Souls at Night (2017) and The Old Man & the Gun (2018). He also played Alexander Pierce in the MCU films Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), the latter serving as his final film role.
Redford made his directorial debut with the family drama Ordinary People (1980), which won four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. His later directing credits include The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), A River Runs Through It (1992), Quiz Show (1994), The Horse Whisperer (1998) and The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000). A major advocate for independent cinema, Redford co-founded the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival in 1978, helping to foster a new generation of filmmakers. Beyond his artistic career, Redford was noted for his environmental activism, his support of Native American and Indigenous rights, and his advocacy for LGBTQ equality.
How Robert Redford makes money
A major advocate for independent cinema, Redford co-founded the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival in 1978, helping to foster a new generation of filmmakers. Robert Redford also founded the Sundance Institute, Sundance Cinemas, Sundance Catalog and the Sundance Channel, all in and around Park City, 30 miles (48 km) north of the Sundance ski area.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (2025-09-16), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
