THE ADVENTUROUS LIFE STORY OF THE LEGENDARY ROBERT REDFORD

The legendary actor Robert Redford has been such a beloved and cherished celebrity for over half a century. But what makes Redford so highly admired isn’t just the fact that he’s so talented on screen. It truly all comes down to the in between moments of his personal life.

Overcoming health and traumatic struggles in his childhood, combatting the blessings and curses of his beauty, creating one of the biggest independent film festivals stateside, and his off-screen relationships, it’s safe to say that Redford’s life story is full of adventure. And he now finally reveals the biggest secrets from his life and career.

Keep on reading to dive deep into the life story of America’s treasured superstar, Robert Redford.

An Ambitious Start to an Ambitious Career

In 1960, Robert Redford stepped in front of the camera and acted in one of his first ever television series, Maverick. This was just the start of his shining acting career.

Redford continued on to act in over 10 other projects that same year, and, clearly, there was no stopping him once he got his foot in the door. But it was in 1969 that his career started to really take off when he starred in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

His vast career has seen him in all kinds of roles, including in All the President’s Men, Ordinary People, The Natural, and more recently, Avengers: Endgame.

But before we jump into all of his success as an adult, what was life like for the actor as a child?

Charles Robert Redford, Jr.

It all started on August 18, 1936, when Martha Hart and Charles Robert Redford happily welcomed a beautiful baby boy into the world, Charles Robert Redford, Jr.

Little did they know that their beloved baby boy would grow into one of America’s most loved and most attractive male actors of our time.

But behind the scenes of all of his hard-earned successes, were all sorts of personal obstacles and burdens that Robert needed to get through, as well. After all, what would a super celebrity be without an intriguing and inspiring backstory. Right?

Redford’s Role Models

Martha was a wonderful and caring stay-at-home mother, who Redford adored. However, the relationship between Redford and his father was much more complicated, with trouble seeing eye to eye with each other. But that didn’t mean Redford didn’t have male figures to look up to and connect with.

While he had struggles with his own father, Redford got along quite well with his grandfather and Uncle David from his father’s side of the family, as well as, his maternal grandfather, too. From frontier skills, to athletics, to a strong taste for nature, each of Redford’s family members had something different to offer and teach him.

The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far the Tree

It’s not always easy when you don’t get along with your parents, but Redford was fortunate to have a very special and close relationship with his mother.

“She was full of life, full of laughter, full of love. She was out there. I mean, she would take chances, and she was very risky. And she taught me how to drive a car when I was 10, and nobody knew about it. I mean, that kind of stuff. So, we had a close relationship,” Redford shared during a Fresh Air interview with NPR in 2018.

And knowing how lovable and full of life Redford is now, it’s safe to say that the apple doesn’t too fall from the tree. Yet life, laughter, and love aren't all that Redford inherited from his mother.

Falling in Love with Nature at a Young Age

Being born and raised along the shore in the beach city of Santa Monica, California, there’s no doubt that Redford was bound to fall in love with nature at a young age. Can you imagine how incredibly beautiful and clean, the now overpopulated city, looked like almost a century ago?

However, his true love for nature occurred when he first visited one of California’s natural parks. But before he was able to venture off and explore the wonders of the woodlands, there was a major obstacle that Redford and his family needed to overcome during his childhood.

Getting Diagnosed with Polio

Whether it’s just a minor cold or the chicken pox, for any parent out there, you know just how horrifying it is to witness an ill child.

“It all started when I was about 11, growing up in Los Angeles… I had a mild case of polio — not enough to put me in an iron lung, but enough to keep me bedridden for weeks,” Redford shared with Smithsonian Magazine in 2016.

Image by Victor Blackman/Express/Getty Images

As scary as it was to have it at the time, he and his family seemed to handle things as best as they could. Still, though, seeing her son struggling and overcoming this sickness, awoke all sorts of maternal instincts within Redford’s mother.

Before the Vaccine Was Invented

Even though it happened in the late ‘40s during the peak of one of the Polio pandemics, thankfully, Redford was diagnosed with a mild case of Polio. although he was bedridden for a few weeks, his health status never got to the point of paralysis. However, since the Salk vaccine didn’t exist yet, just the diagnosis alone was incredibly concerning.

And as we revealed earlier, it can be completely traumatic for parents to see their child go through something so painful. Redford’s mother did her best to try to be positive about it all, though. She even came up with a life-changing idea to help her son look forward to something upon his recovery.

“My Mom Wanted to Do Something for Me”

Sometimes, there isn’t much you can do as a parent when your child is sick – at least not when it comes to curing them. But mental health and keeping your child’s spirits up are a key component to recovery, and Redford’s mother was keen on that. Once Redford was out of recovery, she had planned a completely heart-warming surprise for him.

“As I came out of it, my mom wanted to do something for me. She realized that, growing up in the city, I’d missed out on a lot of nature. So, she drove me to Yosemite,” Redford revealed to Smithsonian Magazine.

A Nature Boy in His Heart

Robert Redford absolutely adored the beauty that California had to offer. Yet, as the years went by during his teenage years, the open city sky was slowly transforming into a city encumbered with skyscrapers and highways, leaving him to feel claustrophobic from all of the smog and city plan changes.

“I wanted out. So, I went into the mountains into the Sierras, and worked at Yosemite National Park and fell in love with nature that way,” Redford shared with NPR.

And once he had graduated high school, he was ready to get himself even more immersed in nature.

Unknowingly Making Fun of His “Future” Self

It wasn’t necessarily always Redford’s dream to become one of the most iconic rom-com stars of the century. In fact, he used to make fun of those types of movies!

“I grew up in kind of a rough neighborhood, and we’d go to matinees. Anytime there was a love scene on the screen, we’d go ‘Ah, boo! You tell ‘em lover!’ and make fun of the scene. Suddenly, the idea that I would be that guy, is just too much for me to take,” Redford shared with CBS Sunday Morning during an interview in 2018.

Making fun of romantic movies wasn’t the only mischievous fun he had while he was growing up, though – especially come college.

Becoming an Elegant Man

When you think about words to describe Robert Redford now, some that might pop up into your head are “iconic”, “sophisticated”, “graceful”, and the list goes on. Right?

But he wasn’t always so well-composed. It might’ve taken him some time to become the elegant man that we all know and love now, but it’s the struggles and personal development that you go through in your adolescence, that set the basis for what you’ll be like as an adult. And the young Robert Redford was about to get hit by a whirlwind of life-changing situations.

Getting a Scholarship

Far before Robert Redford found out that he had a knack for acting, he discovered a different talent that he had – sports. He didn’t just choose to study at the University of Colorado because of his love for nature, the school had actually offered him a baseball scholarship. Especially for someone who was known to be a “scrappy kid”, can you imagine how exciting that must’ve been? Talk about impressive!

And while it was clear that the youthful Robert Redford was all about the outdoors and wilderness, where did academics fall on his spectrum of interest?

Redford the Rebel

Redford is clearly a well-rounded guy, but during his schooling days, he was just indifferent to the academic side of it all. So, if Redford wasn’t interested in academics, then what exactly was he up to in college?

“You went to college. And from what I've read, academics was not your thing so much and that you did a lot of drinking and rode motorcycles… or drag races,” Terry Gross, the host of NPR's The Fresh Air asked Redford. To which Redford replied, “Yes, yeah — the whole thing.”

Image by Peter Karrette Archive/Getty Images

However, behind all of this mischievousness, was a legitimate reason for his behavior.

“I Went to College to Get Out of Los Angeles”

Robert Redford’s love for the outdoors and nature brought him to the gorgeous Rocky Mountain state of Colorado, to study at the University of Colorado. However, academics never really seemed to be his strong suit.

“I went to college to get out of Los Angeles. I went to college because it was Colorado, and it was the mountains,” Redford confessed.

But although he might’ve been a bit of a scrappy kid, deep down, he doesn’t seem like the type of person to just steal hubcaps from cars and get into all kinds of trouble to be “bad”. Right?

So what was really going on with Redford during his teenage years?

One Important Casualty

Redford grew up during WWII and not only the war hard to get through because it was an actual war, but the family suffered an incredibly hard loss because of it. Redford’s beloved fraternal uncle, Uncle David, was unfortunately lost in battle as a casualty during the war.

“The way the family dealt with it — it just wasn't talked about. It just happened, and you didn't ask a lot of questions…I think that was sort of built into the family structure. … There was no talk about it, and everybody moved on,” Redford shared with NPR in 2014.

Another Disheartening Loss

The loss of his Uncle David wasn’t the only family member that had passed away during that time period. When Redford was just 18 years old, his highly-adored mother had sadly passed away from a rare blood disease at age 40.

There’s no question that dealing with two important family losses during your teenage years can be quite traumatic and disheartening. And the fact that Redford’s family style was to not talk about anything and just move on, proved to have both positive and negative outcomes.

Some Minor Trouble

While it might put things into perspective when you don’t make them such a big deal and just try to move on, suppressing emotions can also erupt in different, unhealthy ways.

So, while it’s not confirmed just why he was a “teenage hoodlum” during his young adolescence, there’s no doubt that some of his personal life matters interfered with his performance during his freshmen year of college.

Image by Robin Platzer/Images/Getty Images

Thankfully, any trouble he got into was minor, and he quickly got his act together after his freshmen year of college.

Cupid’s Arrow

Clearly his college habits were far from composed, which later resulted in him parting ways with the University of Colorado. However, before he got started in taking his life in a different direction, cupid’s arrow decided to cross paths. Redford was lovestruck at a young age, with a fellow student named Lola Van Wagenen.

The two college students fell absolutely in love, and were ready to spend the rest of their lives together. However, before that could happen, Redford needed to get his own life in order.

Studying Overseas

Along with finding the love of his life, Redford discovered a different love – theatre. That’s right, Redford’s acting days didn’t actually start off with him in front of the camera.

Redford always had a taste for the theater world and performing on stage. But little did he know that he would be a shining star on camera, as well.

After leaving Colorado, he headed back to California to work, save up some money, and head off to the magnificent, art-oriented continent of Europe to study art and theatrics.

Exchanging Vows in Sin City

After spending some time in Paris, France and Florence, Italy to study art, Redford came back to the states with some new dreams to fulfill. One of them being, to put a ring on Miss Lola Van Wagenen’s finger.

That’s right, the two kept their love well and strong, even during the long distance period while Redford was away.

Image via Robin Platzer/IMAGES/Getty Images

After Robert had gotten down on one knee and asked for Lola’s hand in marriage, she said yes, and decided to drop out of college. And at age 21, the two lovebirds secretly got married in none other than Las Vegas, Nevada.

Redford’s First Few Gigs

Now that Redford had his personal life all set up, he was jet-set and ready to focus on his soon-to-be blooming career. About a year after he had tied the knot with Van Wagenen, he landed one of his first small gigs on Broadway, in 1959’s Tall Story, following with The Highest Tree. How exciting!

The newly-found talented actor was slowly starting to become more and more recognized in the industry. He began guest starring on different television programs, as well, and would soon be making a full transition from on stage to on screen.

Slowly Transitioning from the Stage to the Screen

“The first show I ever did was Perry Mason, back in 1959,” Redford excitingly recalled during his interview with CBS Sunday Morning.

Come 1960, Redford had been guest starring on countless of shows ranging from Alfred Hitchcock Presents, to Maverick, to The Twilight Zone, and many more. Still though, it wouldn’t be until the late ‘60s that his stardom would truly explode, and he would make a full transition to a television and movie superstar.

In fact, the game changer for him was a movie adaptation for a play that he had performed in, too.

“Barefoot in the Park”

In 1963, Robert Redford was cast to play the leading role in Neil Simon’s rom-com Broadway play, Barefoot in the Park, alongside Elizabeth Ashley. Fans and critics raved about the play, and it quickly transitioned into a sold-out show!

A few years later, in 1967, Simon decided to make a film adaptation of the play, and Robert Redford was the leading man in it, of course.

Image by Max B. Miller/Fotos International/Getty Images

But what was interesting was that a different female actress was cast as his co-star.

The Dynamic Duo

Until today, the ‘60s feature-length film Barefoot in the Park is known to be one of the classics of the rom-com genre. The movie isn’t just incredibly well-loved because of the hilarious writing. It’s the shining co-stars that brought the script to life with their dynamic chemistry on screen-together.

Alongside the tall, blond, handsome talented actor, Robert Redford (who played Paul), was the gorgeous, vivacious, and perky Jane Fonda (who played Corie). Needless to say, these two together on camera were a Hollywood homerun!

Not the First nor the Last

1967’s Barefoot in the Park wasn’t going to be the last time we see Robert Redford and Jane Fonda as a couple on screen together. In fact, it wasn’t the first time they had been seen together on screen, either. A year prior, the two both appeared in 1966’s The Chase.

However, the two wouldn’t reunite again until over a decade later, in 1979, to shoot their western romance The Electric Horseman. But until then, each of them had their own hands full building up their stardom and keeping up with their own personal families.

Focusing on the Family

While there was so much good to come out of Redford’s life, and he was able to achieve and accomplish so many of his goals and dreams, his battles to deal and cope with all of life’s hardships were far from gone.

The ‘60s were full of ups and downs in the Redford family. While Robert was doing his best to create an ambitious and satisfying career path for himself, he also was focused on his family.

Together, Robert and Lola brought in four beautiful children into the world. However, when their first child was born in 1959, the family endured a heartbreaking tragedy nobody would’ve ever expected.

Another Hard Loss

In September 1959, the happy couple brought their first child into the world. However, after two and a half months, their son suffered from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Not much has been shared with the public about Redford’s first-born son, Scott Anthony Redford, however there’s no doubt that it took a toll on the family.

As we revealed earlier, Redford grew up into a family where tragedies or losses weren’t really talked about. So, it makes sense that he’s been keen on keeping his personal life as private as possible over the years.

In fact, Redford shared with CBS Sunday Morning, “At a certain point, [being a celebrity] was taking more away than it was bringing… you get further and further away from the thing you like most, which is the work.”

Moving Forward

No matter what struggles came towards Robert’s way, though, he found a way to figure it out and get back on the right track. His family was based on the premise of taking in the stressful or disheartening situation at hand, and just try to move on as best as they could.

As hard as it was to lose a child, that didn’t stop them from living their life and expanding the family.

Image by Bret Lundberg/Images/Getty Images

And there’s no doubt that the life-changing decade of the 1960s brought in a whole lot of good into their lives, too.

Family Matters

Redford and Lola Van Wagenen didn't let the loss stop them from bringing three more children into the world.

In 1960, they welcomed a daughter, Shauna, who became a painter. Two years later, in 1962, the two had a son, James, who is a writer and a producer.

In 1970, Robert and Lola welcomed Amy into the world. Amy later became an actress, just like her father. She had guest roles in TV shows Sex and the City, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and The Sopranos. She also a director and a producer.

The family kept on growing in later years and Redford is a grandfather to seven children.

Hitting a New Level of Fame

Over the next decade, Redford had entered a whole, new adventurous world. Not only did he become a family man and father to three loving children, but he was also full of new work opportunities.

His all-American next-door neighbor looks and charm were spreading throughout the industry, and opening all sorts of new doors for him.

It was in 1969, after landing one of the leading roles in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – co-starring with his good friend Paul Newman — that his stardom stepped up to the next level and changed forever.

Broadening His Horizons

To say that Robert Redford is ambitious would be an understatement. He loved all aspects of acting, not just being an actor. So, come the ‘70s and ‘80s, Redford was a big-time star, and started landing all sorts of amazing gigs in the industry, beyond acting. Redford broadened his horizons – and did so quite successfully – from acting to directing and producing.

Image by Robin Platzer/Twin Images/Online USA

Even as a highly-respected and well-rounded superstar, though, Redford still had some struggles to overcome in the industry, too.

The Blessings and Curses of Beauty

One of the issues that many actors struggled with back then, and today too, is being “stereotyped” or “profiled” as a specific type of character. Robert Redford’s gorgeous blond locks and handsome smile was perfect for rom-coms, but his acting talents were overlooked.

Because of this, when it came to certain roles in more serious movies, like in The Godfather or The Graduate, he was overlooked. His beauty was proving to be both a blessing and a curse, since all of these casting issues stemmed down from being too good-looking.

Strive, Drive, and Commitment

Whether it was harder for him to land more serious roles during the early years of his career, in more recent years, that hasn’t been the case at all – and we can’t really say it has much to do with age.

One of the greatest things about Robert Redford as a person, is his strive and drive to accomplish things. Which makes his commitment to the role, one of the greatest things about him as an actor.

Over the years, Redford has been known to shoot many of his own stunts whether it’s with horses as a 43-year-old in The Electric Horseman, or at 78 years old under water in All is Lost.

But of course, stunts can sometimes come at a price – a physical one.

Battle Wounds

Did you know that Robert Redford lost part of his hearing while shooting All is Lost? Both of his ears were damaged while he was filming some of his intense wave storm stunts, and one was actually permanently damaged. But with a smile on his face, the light-hearted, dedicated, elegant Redford shared with CBS Sunday Morning, “It’s probably good, I’m not missing anything.” Now that is some positive dedication!

But racking up fame and battle wounds isn’t the only thing that Redford collected over the years.

Buying a Lot of Land in Utah

Sadly, Redford and Lola separated in 1985. But before that, the two of them had actually bought some land in the mountainous and nature-filled state of Utah. Their initial investment of some ski-land was only $500, from when he first gained success in 1969. However, as Redford’s fame increased, so did the size of their lot.

Eventually, he used the land to fulfill a brand-new movie industry related dream. Redford turned the lot into an area to create the Sundance Institute, as well as, founded the legendary Sundance Film Festival for independent filmmakers. How incredible!

Founding Father of Film Today

It’s clear that Robert Redford has a huge part in the movie industry today.

From a “teenage hoodlum” he turned into one of America’s most beloved celebrities. From staring in some of the most iconic classic films, to broadening his horizons and working behind the scenes as an actor and director, to founding the world-renowned Sundance Institute and Sundance Film Festival, it’s amazing to see how much this ambitious man has been able to contribute and how far he’s come throughout his life.

50 Years Later

It’s incredible to think that even at age 81, his remarkable talents as an actor and his legendary charm on screen was just as successful and cherished as when he was 31.

In 2017, Hollywood’s heart throbbing, dynamic duo of Robert Redford and Jane Fonda reunited to star in a Netflix original, Our Souls at Night. And while both of these superstars clearly still got it on camera, fans have been dying to know what was there dynamic like off-camera?

Celeb Crushes

It turns out the two have quite a strong connection, even though they’ve only shot four films together! In fact, it looks like they were secretly each other’s celebrity crushes!

“There was just a chemistry we had as human beings that we could carry on to the screen that required no effort… And it’s been that way through all of our films,” Redford confessed to The Telegraph in 2017.

So, what did Fonda think? “I was always in love with Robert Redford – I made three films with him and nothing happened, because I was married and he was married,” Fonda admitted.

In Love Again

Despite Redford and Fonda's close friendship, it was another woman that stole his heart.

Redford met German born painter Sibylle Szaggars in 1996 and they hit it off quickly. In 2008 he announced that they are engaged, and they tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony in 2009.

In an interview to People magazine in 2011, Redford said that his wife keeps him young.

"[My wife] is a very special person, she’s younger than I am, and European, which I like, so that’s a whole new life," he shared. "I ride horses, ski, play pretty hard tennis. I still have energy. When that starts to shut down, I might start to think about age."

Jane Fonda and Robert Redford Behind-the-Scenes

Jane Fonda also revealed what it was like working with Robert “Bob” Redford now compared to 50 years ago.

“Bob can be moody, and back in the Sixties and Seventies when we worked together, sometimes he wouldn’t speak to me all day, except for what was in the script. And I would think, ‘Oh my god, I’ve bothered him, he doesn’t like me, I’ve done something wrong,” Fonda shared with The Telegraph.

But it looks a century later, the fabulous Fonda was able to have a change of heart and enjoy herself more with her co-star. “This time… it was like, ‘Come on, Bob, lighten up!’ Yeah, I could tease him. I didn’t feel like it was my fault. And so I thought, ‘Oh, you know, I’m growing up’.”

“Why Not Live It as Much as You Can?”

Our Souls at Night was one of the last films that Redford acted in. While Redford revealed that he plans on taking a step away from acting in 2018, he knows that the film industry will always remain close to his heart.

“I really don’t think of retirement, cause to me, retirement means stopping something or quitting something. I mean there’s this life to lead. Why not live it as much as you can? As long as you can.”

What a great piece of wisdom!