Robert Redford, the Oscar-winning actor and director, died in his sleep at his home in Provo, Utah, on September 16, 2025. He was 89.
“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,” his publicist Cindi Berger told CNN in a statement. She added that the family has asked for privacy.
Redford is survived by his wife, Sibylle Szaggars, two of his children, along with several grandchildren. He first met Sibylle in the late 1990s at his Sundance Mountain Resort, and they married in 2009.
Here’s a closer look at their marriage and family life.
Who Is Robert Redford’s Wife Sibylle Szaggars?
Sibylle Szaggars was born on April 9, 1957, in Hamburg, Germany. She began pursuing art in the 1980s after moving to London, where she launched her career as a painter.
Toward the end of that decade, she relocated to the United States and traveled through the Southwest and Utah, places filled with natural beauty that later became central to her life and her work. It was in Utah that she eventually crossed paths with Robert Redford, where the two would later build a life together.
Szaggars has spent more than forty years as a visual artist. Her work spans oil painting, photography, and performance art, often rooted in her concern for the environment.
From her early years sketching and painting during family travels, she developed a fascination with ancient lands and indigenous cultures, themes that continued to influence her projects. In the mid-1990s, she created her Buffalo series, highlighting the environmental dangers facing the American buffalo. Her exhibitions have reached audiences in Europe, Monaco, Peru, Singapore, Japan, and across the United States.
Alongside her artistic career, Szaggars has been deeply involved in environmental causes. In 2015, she established The Way of the Rain, a nonprofit focused on creating educational and artistic performances that draw attention to the need for protecting the planet. Her husband, Redford, has supported the organization since its founding, serving as vice president and often joining her in advocacy work for environmental change.
How Did They Meet?
Robert Redford met his wife, Sibylle Szaggars, in the late 1990s at Sundance Mountain Resort, the Utah retreat Redford had created in 1968 along with the Sundance Film Festival. At the time, Redford was divorced from his first spouse, Lola Van Wagenen, and Szaggars had come to the resort for skiing.
She admitted she didn’t know much about him when they were first introduced. During a 2014 YoungArts Salon panel, Szaggars recalled that Redford invited her and some friends to dinner. Wanting to be prepared, she rented a stack of his movies and watched about 15 minutes of each one two nights before, in case the films came up in conversation. To her relief, they never did.
Redford later said that her lack of familiarity with his career was part of what drew him to her. “It was a wonderful beginning of a relationship, because it began as two human beings meeting each other and finding a connection as two human beings, rather than being colored by success,” he explained.
Robert Redford and Sibylle Szaggars Married in 2009
The couple tied the knot on July 11, 2009, at the Louis C. Jacob Hotel in Hamburg, Germany. For the ceremony, Redford chose a white suit while Szaggars wore a champagne-colored gown.
The wedding came after more than a decade together, and from that point on, the two remained partners in life and work.
Robert Redford’s Children From His First Wife Lola Van Wagenen
Before marrying Sibylle Szaggars, Redford was married to historian Lola Van Wagenen. The two wed in August 1958, spent more than two decades together before divorcing in 1982. During their marriage, they became parents to four children.
Their first child, a son named Scott Anthony, was born in September 1959 but tragically died of sudden infant death syndrome on November 19, 1959, at just two and a half months old.
The two welcomed their second child, a daughter, Shauna Jean, in 1960. She later attended the University of Colorado Boulder, graduating with a degree in art in 1985. Shauna went on to marry author Eric Schlosser, with whom she has two children, Mica and Conor.
Redford and Van Wagenen’s third child, James, was born in 1962. Like his sister, he studied at the University of Colorado Boulder before continuing his education at Northwestern University, where he earned a master’s degree in literature. He pursued a career in filmmaking and activism but died in October 2020 at age 58 from liver cancer. James and his wife Kyle had two children, Dylan and Lena.
Their youngest, Amy Hart, was born in 1970. She studied at the Dalton School in New York before moving to San Francisco, where she focused on theater at San Francisco State University. Amy has built a career in filmmaking, directing feature films, television episodes, and music videos. Her credits include the 2008 feature The Guitar and Jeff Buckley’s “Everyday People” music video in 2016. She is also a mother to one child.
In addition to his wife Sibylle and four children, Robert Redford by five grandchildren.
