Actor, filmmaker and activist Robert Redford died at age 89 on September 16, 2025. The screen idol was known for "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "The Sting," "All the President’s Men," "The Great Gatsby," "Ordinary People" and "A River Runs Through It." Beyond the screen, he founded the Sundance Institute and was a longtime environmental activist.

Actor and director Robert Redford talks about his son James Redford's first produced film documentary, "The Kindness of Strangers," at its premiere in New York City on September 13, 1999. Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI

Redford, who starred with Christopher Plummer in the film "Inside Daisy Clover," praises Plummer before the actor is given the inaugural Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theatre in New York City on April 22, 2002. Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI

Redford (L) and Meryl Streep pose for pictures at the sixth annual Forces for Nature Gala, where Redford was honored by the NRDC in New York City on March 29, 2004. Photo by Laura Cavanaugh/UPI

Paul Newman (L) and Redford pose for pictures at the Westport Country Playhouse "Building the Future: A Gala Evening" at the Hyatt Hotel in Old Greenwich, Conn., on October 14, 2004. Photo by Laura Cavanaugh/UPI

Glenn Close (L) and Redford, creator of the Sundance Film Festival, pose for the media at the April 21, 2005, Sundance Institute Risk Takers gala benefit held in New York City to honor film director Robert Altman. Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI

Redford (L) and singer Tina Turner attend the Kennedy Center Honors Gala at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington on December 4, 2005. Photo by Katie Falkenberg/Pool/UPI

Redford, founder of the Sundance Institute, is on hand at the Brooklyn Academy of Music to announce the collaboration of the independent film studio and BAM in New York City on January 5, 2006. Photo by Monika Graff/UPI

Steve Buscemi (L) talks with Redford as he announces his organization's collaboration with the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City on January 5, 2006. Photo by Monika Graff/UPI

Redford, an environmental activist, participates in the "Take America Back" conference in Washington on June 12, 2006. Photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI

Redford arrives for a program honoring Mark Twain Prize recipient Neil Simon at the Kennedy Center in Washington on October 15, 2006. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI

Redford attends a news conference on October 25, 2006, in Los Angeles, in support of Proposition 87, which would tax oil production in California to raise $4 billion for alternative fuel research. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI

Tom Cruise (L) and Redford arrive at the Rome Film Festival in Rome on October 23, 2007. Cruise and Redford starred in film "Lions for Lambs" together. Photo by David Silpa/UPI

Redford (L) and Streep, cast members in "Lions for Lambs," arrive for a screening of the film at the opening of AFI Fest in Los Angeles on November 1, 2007. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI

Redford answers questions at the opening day press conference of the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on January 21, 2010. Photo by Gary C. Caskey/UPI

Redford (R) signs a baseball for Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood after throwing out a ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field in Chicago on April 1, 2011. Photo by Brian Kersey/UPI

Redford (L) and Shia LaBeouf arrive on the red carpet at the premiere of "The Company You Keep" in New York City on April 1, 2013. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

Redford (L) and his wife Sibylle Szaggars arrive on the red carpet before the screening of the film "All Is Lost" during the 66th annual Cannes International Film Festival in France on May 22, 2013. Photo by David Silpa/UPI

Honoree Redford arrives on the red carpet at the 42nd Chaplin Award Gala in New York City on April 27, 2015. Photo by Dennis Van Tine/UPI

President Barack Obama awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Redford during a ceremony at the White House in Washington on November 22, 2016. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI

Redford arrives for the premiere of "The Old Man and the Gun" during the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada on September 10, 2018. Photo by Christine Chew/UPI