Robert Redford’s death at 89 has drawn attention not only to his towering career but also to the family history that shaped him long before Hollywood. He passed away at his Sundance home in Utah, surrounded by loved ones, leaving behind a legacy that extends beyond cinema.
During his lifetime, Redford was more than just a movie star: he was a cultural icon. From his breakout roles in the late 1960s to becoming one of the most bankable actors of the 1970s, he defined an era of American cinema. His work as both an actor and director earned him Academy Awards, while his creation of the Sundance Film Festival forever altered the landscape for independent filmmakers worldwide.
Rather than revisiting the milestones of his work, this article turns to his beginnings: the parents who raised him, the family ties that grounded him, and the ethnic roots that formed part of his identity.
Robert Redford’s Early Life: Parents, Siblings, Ethnicity
Redford was born on August 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California, to Martha Woodruff Redford (née Hart) of Austin, Texas, and Charles Robert Redford Sr., an accountant. His mom, Martha, died at 41 in 1955, while his father died at the age of 77 in 1991.
He also had a paternal half-brother named William. Redford’s family background was a mix of Irish, Scottish, and English ancestry.
His paternal great-great-grandfather, Elisha Redford, emigrated from England to New York in 1849 with his Irish wife, Mary Ann McCreery. On his mother’s side, the Harts came from Galway, Ireland, while the Greens were Scotch-Irish settlers in the 18th century.
The family lived in Van Nuys, California, while his father worked in El Segundo. They often visited Austin to see his maternal grandfather, and those trips gave Redford an early appreciation for nature. As a child, he also dealt with a mild case of polio at age 11.
He attended Van Nuys High School, where one of his classmates was future baseball pitcher Don Drysdale. After graduating in 1954, Redford enrolled at the University of Colorado but lost his scholarship after struggling with alcohol. He then traveled through Europe before returning to the U.S. to study painting at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and later acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.
Robert Redford’s Family, Marriage, and Children
Robert Redford’s personal life was as full and complex as his time on screen. He was married twice in his lifetime. He first married Lola Van Wagenen on August 9, 1958, in Las Vegas, with a second reception held a month later at her grandmother’s home. Together they raised four children, though their journey was touched by tragedy early on.
Their first child, Scott Anthony Redford, was born in September 1959 but died just two months later from sudden infant death syndrome. He was laid to rest in Provo, Utah.
Their daughter, Shauna Jean Redford, born in 1960, found her passion in art and later married journalist Eric Schlosser. Their son, David James Redford, born in 1962, became a filmmaker and advocate before he died in 2020.
The youngest of four, Amy Hart Redford, born in 1970, followed her father into the entertainment industry as an actress, director, and producer. Between his surviving children, Redford welcomed seven grandchildren, who added to the family’s creative legacy.
Although Redford and Van Wagenen never formally announced their separation, by the early 1980s, it was widely reported that the couple had been living apart. Questions about the status of their marriage lingered for years, though by the 1990s, they were no longer together.
Redford later found lasting companionship with Sibylle Szaggars, a German-born environmental artist. The two had been together since 1996, sharing his home in Sundance, Utah. On July 11, 2009, they made their long relationship official, marrying in Hamburg, Germany, in a quiet ceremony.
