Born on August 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California, to Charles Robert Redford, an accountant for Standard Oil, and Martha Redford, who died in 1955, the year he graduated from high school, Charles Robert Redford Jr. was a scrappy kid who stole hubcaps in high school and lost his college baseball scholarship at the University of Colorado because of drunkenness. After studying at the Pratt Institute of Art and living the painter's life in Europe, he studied acting in New York at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Lola Redford Van Wagenen (consumer activist), born in 1940, dropped out of college to marry Redford on September 12, 1958. They divorced in 1985 after having four children, one of whom died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Daughter Shauna Redford, born November 15, 1960, is a painter who married Eric Schlosser on October 5, 1985, in Provo, UT. Her first child, born in January 1991, made Redford a grandfather. Son James Redford, a.k.a. Jamie Redford, a screenwriter, was born May 5, 1962. Daughter Amy Redford, an actress; was born October 22, 1970. Redford has a brother named William.

Television and stage experience coupled with all-American good looks led to movies and a breakthrough role as the Sundance Kid in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, when the actor was 32. The Way We Were and The Sting, both in 1973, made Redford #1 at the box office for the next three years. Redford used his clout to advance environmental causes and his riches to acquire Utah property, which he transformed into a ranch and the Sundance ski resort. In 1980 he established the Sundance Institute for aspiring filmmakers. Its annual film festival has become one of the world's most influential. Redford's directorial debut, Ordinary People, won him the Academy Award for Best Director in 1981. He waited eight years before getting behind the camera again, this time for the screen version of John Nichols' acclaimed novel of the Southwest, The Milagro Beanfield War. He scored with critics and fans in 1992 with the Brad Pitt film A River Runs Through It, and again, in 1994, with Quiz Show, which earned him yet another Best Director nomination.


The Last Castle (2001): $11,000,000
A Bridge Too Far (1977): $2,000,000
The Sting (1973): $500,000
War Hunt (1962): $500.00

10/97: Ranked #29 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. Father of Shauna Redford (born on 15 November 1960), James Redford (born on 15 May 1962) and Amy Redford (born on 22 October 1970). His oldest son Scott was born in 1959 and died shortly after from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Was considered for the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972). Left-handed. Lost out on the role of Ben Braddock in The Graduate (1967) because director Mike Nichols didn't think anyone would believe Redford would have trouble getting "the girl". Is a national member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity. Has done 11 period pieces, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Sting (1973), The Natural (1984) and Out of Africa (1985). He and famed Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale, as well as Natalie Wood were in the same high school graduating class (Van Nuys High School, Class of 1954). 2004: In addition to being the graduation speaker for Bard College's 144th Commencement, he also received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the college. He was voted the 30th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly. Is of Irish, Scottish and English descent. After his suggestions of Warren Beatty, Alain Delon and Burt Reynolds to play the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972) were rejected by Francis Ford Coppola, Paramount production chief Robert Evans suggested Redford. When Coppola demurred, preferring his first choice of Tony Awar-winning Broadway actor Al Pacino, Evans explained that Redford could fit the role as he could be perceived as "northern Italian." Evans lost the struggle, Pacino was cast and a star was born. 2005: Premiere Magazine ranked him as #17 on a list of the Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in their Stars in Our Constellation feature. Along with Warren Beatty, Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson, Richard Attenborough and Kevin Costner one of six people to win and Academy Award for Best Director, though they are mainly known as actors. 2005: Recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors. Other recipients were Tina Turner, Tony Bennett, Suzanne Farrell and Julie Harris. His performance as the Sundance Kid in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) is ranked #20 on the American Film Institute's 100 Heroes & Villains. This is a ranking he shares with Paul Newman, who portrayed Butch Cassidy. In Germany he shares his dubbing voice with Patrick Stewart and Sir Anthony Hopkins. He often did his own stunts in action sequences but made sure the stunt men who were hired for it were paid, so as not to put anyone out of work. He set up the Sundance Film Institute in Utah for independent filmmakers and in 1997 announced the creation of Sundance Cinemas, a venture with a major distributer to set up a chain of theaters for the screening of independent films. As of 2007, none of these theaters has been built. Lifelong friends with Sydney Pollack both men having made their feature film acting debuts in War Hunt (1962). Turned down the role in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969). Was romantically linked to Sonia Braga and Kathy O'Rear. Appeared in 7 movies that were directed by Sydney Pollack: This Property Is Condemned (1966), Jeremiah Johnson (1972), The Way We Were (1973), Three Days of the Condor (1975), The Electric Horseman (1979), Out of Africa (1985) and Havana (1990/I). They also both appeared in War Hunt (1962). Lyrics to Mel Tillis' song "Coca Cola Cowboy" refer to "an Eastwood smile and Robert Redford hair". Father-in-law of Eric Schlosser.