Robert Redford's father was an accountant for Standard Oil, and Redford was raised in a comfortable middle-class household. He earned a baseball scholarship to the University of Colorado, but the scholarship was revoked after Redford hosted several drunken parties. He then studied drama at New York's Academy of Dramatic Arts, and became a busy actor on Broadway through the mid-1960s. On off days and between plays he worked on television a lot -- Perry Mason, Naked City, Route 66, The Twilight Zone, The Untouchables, and so on. His first film was the 1962 Korean war drama War Hunt, with Redford in a supporting role as a naïve recruit, and co-starring Sydney Pollack, who later directed several of Redford's most famous films. Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park was Redford's biggest Broadway hit, and he also starred in a 1967 Barefoot film adaptation. It was his sixth film, and it made him famous.
He is politically liberal and often outspoken about it, albeit more tactfully than Barbra Streisand.
[1] Verified with State of California, California Birth Index, 1905-1995.
Father: Charles Robert Redford (accountant)
Mother: Martha Hart (d. 1955)
Brother: William Redford
Wife: Lola Van Wagenen (consumer activist, b. 1940, m. 12-Sep-1958, div. 1985)
Daughter: Shauna Redford (painter, b. 15-Nov-1960)
Son: David James Redford ("Jamie", screenwriter, b. 5-May-1962)
Daughter: Amy Hart Redford (actress, b. 22-Oct-1970)
Girlfriend: Sonia Braga (actress, ex-)
Girlfriend: Kathy O'Rear (costume designer, dated 1988 into the 1990s)
Wife: Sibylle Szaggars (German painter, b. circa 1958, dated 1999-2009, m. 11-Jul-2009)
High School: Van Nuys High School, Van Nuys, CA (1954)
University: University of Colorado (lost scholarship)
University: Pratt Institute
The Weinstein Company Advisor
Bill Bradley for President
John Kerry for President
Kerry Victory 2004
Kappa Sigma Fraternity
National Medal of Arts 1996
French Legion of Honor 2010
FILMOGRAPHY AS DIRECTOR
The Conspirator (11-Sep-2010)
Lions for Lambs (22-Oct-2007)
The Legend of Bagger Vance (29-Oct-2000)
The Horse Whisperer (15-May-1998)
Quiz Show (14-Sep-1994)
A River Runs Through It (13-Sep-1992)
The Milagro Beanfield War (18-Mar-1988)
Ordinary People (19-Sep-1980)
FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
Smash His Camera (Jan-2010) · Himself
Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk (12-Mar-2008) · Narrator
Lions for Lambs (22-Oct-2007)
Charlotte's Web (7-Dec-2006) [VOICE]
An Unfinished Life (19-Aug-2005)
Trudell (20-Jan-2005) · Himself
Tanner on Tanner (5-Oct-2004) · Himself
Sacred Planet (12-Apr-2004) · Narrator [VOICE]
The Clearing (Jan-2004)
Spy Game (19-Nov-2001)
The Last Castle (19-Oct-2001)
The Horse Whisperer (15-May-1998)
Up Close & Personal (1-Mar-1996) · Warren Justice
Indecent Proposal (7-Apr-1993) · John Gage
Sneakers (9-Sep-1992) · Bishop
Incident at Oglala (8-May-1992) · Narrator [VOICE]
Here's Looking at You, Warner Bros. (1991) · Himself
Havana (12-Dec-1990)
Legal Eagles (18-Jun-1986) · Tom Logan
Out of Africa (10-Dec-1985) · Denys
The Natural (11-May-1984)
Brubaker (20-Jun-1980) · Brubaker
The Electric Horseman (21-Dec-1979) · Sonny
A Bridge Too Far (15-Jun-1977)
All the President's Men (7-Apr-1976)
Three Days of the Condor (24-Sep-1975)
The Great Waldo Pepper (13-Mar-1975)
The Great Gatsby (26-Mar-1974)
The Sting (25-Dec-1973) · Johnny Hooker
The Way We Were (17-Oct-1973) · Hubbell
Jeremiah Johnson (10-Sep-1972)
The Candidate (29-Jun-1972)
The Hot Rock (21-Apr-1972) · Dortmunder
Little Fauss and Big Halsy (21-Oct-1970)
Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (18-Dec-1969)
Downhill Racer (6-Nov-1969)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (23-Sep-1969)
Barefoot in the Park (25-May-1967) · Paul Bratter
This Property Is Condemned (3-Aug-1966)
The Chase (19-Feb-1966)
Inside Daisy Clover (17-Feb-1966) · Wade Lewis
Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious (13-Oct-1965)
War Hunt (1962) · Pvt. Roy Loomis
The Iceman Cometh (14-Nov-1960)