Actor Robert Redford Celebrates Milestone 85th Birthday

Aug 18, 2021

Robert Redford is an accomplished actor, director and activist who's been making waves in the entertainment industry since the 1950s, which means he's had an incredible career that's lasted over six decades! In fact, the Hollywood heartthrob only recently retired from his successful career. 

Born Charles Robert Redford, Jr. on Aug. 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California, the actor is celebrating his 85th birthday today. In honor of the milestone, let's take a look at his amazing life and career.

Growing up in California, Robert had plenty of opportunities to make connections and become friends with people who were also in the spotlight, or who would later be in it themselves. He wasn’t the best student, but he made it a point to follow his passions and pursue them professionally. 

After getting his start on Broadway, Robert moved to bigger and better things with countless roles in both film and television. While his success wasn't instant, Robert knew to keep working hard and persevering, and eventually, in the 1960s he began to pick up role after role.

The actor showed his versatility across many different types of films including action, drama and romance movies. Not wanting to be type-cast, he even made the choice to turn down some roles, including parts in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “The Graduate.” This led him to land one of the biggest jobs in his career in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” in 1969. The film helped people to view Robert as not just the pretty blonde man on screen, but also as someone who had layers and was intelligent and cynical. It also catapulted him to fame.

Following the success of the spaghetti western, the 1970s were great for Robert's career and he had no problem finding critically successful roles. He became a box-office star and continued to push himself as an actor. He joined the cast of “All the President’s Men” in 1976 and even worked as an executive producer for the film. The movie was a hit and received an abundance of award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director at the Academy Awards, and took home the award for Best Screenplay.

Nominated for a handful of awards throughout his career, Robert won his first award in 1966 when he took home the Golden Globe for New Star of the Year: Actor for his work in “Inside Daisy Clover.” He later won the Academy Award for Best Director in 1980 for his work on “Ordinary People,” which was actually the first film he worked on as a director. Robert's most recent recognition was in 2019 when he won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Morelia International Film Festival for his artistic excellence.

While his long filmography is where Robert built his career, some of his more recent projects are just as impressive as his trademark roles. He played Alexander Pierce in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” in 2014, and later reprised his role in “Avengers: Endgame” in 2017, although the movie wasn’t released until 2019. 

Shortly after filming "Avengers: Endgame," Robert announced he was retiring from acting in Aug. 2018, although he continued working following his remarks. The star later did retire in 2020, with no new credits or mention of future work since.

On top of a storied acting and filmmaking career, Robert was also able to find love and happiness in his personal life. He married his first wife, Lola Van Wagenen, in 1958. Together, the couple juggled their careers and managed to start a family. They had four children in total, including daughters Shauna Redford and Amy Redford, as well as two sons, Scott Redford and James Redford. According to Closer Weekly, Scott died just two months after he was born due to sudden infant death syndrome. James died quite recently in Oct. 2020 after battling liver cancer for over a year.

Together with James, Robert founded The Redford Center in 2005 to help raise awareness about environmentalism. According to the foundation's website, “The Redford Center uses impact-driven film and media to galvanize the movement toward environmental justice, protection and repair.” 

Despite starting a family together, Robert's marriage to Van Wagenen wouldn't last and in 1985 the couple got divorced after 27 years of marriage. Following that, Robert took some time to himself to focus on his career and on being a great father. Then, after more than a decade away from romance, he found love again when he met Sibylle Szaggars Redford in 1996. The pair dated for quite a while before finally tying the knot during a beautiful ceremony in Hamburg, Germany in 2009 and they've been inseparable ever since. 

In 2011, Robert told the Denver Post that Szaggars Redford was a source of inspiration and rejuvenation and “a very special person." The two have stayed by each other’s side and have been nothing but supportive of each other's careers. With the legendary actor retiring from his acting career recently, they've had even more time to further deepen their stable relationship, and we're sure they'll be celebrating Robert's 85th birthday together.

Happy 85th birthday to Robert Redford! What's your favorite movie that he's starred in? Send your birthday wishes to the actor and be sure to pass this on so others can do the same!