Robert Redford's Daughter Amy Is All Grown Up And Is Dad's Spitting Image

Feb 04, 2021 by apost team

Amy Redford has followed in her father's footsteps with a career in acting, directing, and producing. Her famous father, Robert Redford, has a stellar repertoire behind him, so it's no surprise his youngest daughter has also made a name for herself in the industry – she was able to learn from the best! After taking a look at Robert Redford's career and personal life, it's no surprise that Amy Redford is following in the footsteps of her famous father.

Robert Redford is one of Hollywood's beloved all-American actors. With his quintessential good looks and charm, it's to no surprise that he landed so many incredible roles. However, the actor's life didn't start out so glamorous.

Robert Redford was born on August 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California. His mother, Martha had him with his father Charles, who was an accountant. According to IMDb, Redford's mother, unfortunately, passed away in 1995, just one year after Redford graduated high school. He had a rather rocky childhood. Eventually, Redford took the time to travel to Europe, and upon his return to America really got his acting career started. In an interview with Esquire, Redford talked about the motives behind his trip to Europe. He said: 

"That's all I ever wanted," Robert Redford revealed. "I just want to get out of this country. I want to get to a new environment, new culture, and try to be an artist in new territory." That's when my life really began. I had to live hand-to-mouth. I was hitch- hiking everywhere."

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Like many Hollywood actors, Redford's career started off in theater. Redford made it to Broadway as a part of the 1963 stage production of "Barefoot in the Park." However, it wasn't until "Barefoot in the Park" became a film that Robert's role as a newlywed with co-star Jane Fonda really stuck in the minds of viewers. The 1967 romantic comedy featured the love story between Fonda and Robert's characters in New York with all of the passion and laughter that comes with a new marriage. Fonda and Redford have gone on to do other movies together, such as "Our Souls at Night," and Fonda was as ready as ever to play another love interest with Redford. Fonda told USA Today:

"It was fun to kiss [Robert Redford] in my 20s and then to kiss him again in my almost-80s."

Robert Redford went on to play love interests after his big Hollywood start, but his real breakthrough role was in the 1969 western film, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" with his role as the 'sundance kid' himself. The film was loosely based on fact, but took liberties that many other westerns during the time also took: an exaggeration of drama, romance, and action. Following the style of many great movies, the film had a particular song that helped to propel it to greatness. The ukelele-heavy song "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" enhanced the narrative about the two 19th-century outlaws and one partner's love interest. In an interview with USA Today, Robert Redford admitted his reservations toward the hit song in the film. He said:

“When the film was released, I was highly critical – how did the song fit with the film? There was no rain. At the time, it seemed like a dumb idea. How wrong I was, as it turned out to be a giant hit.” 

"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" became so beloved that eventually, the Library Congress selected it for the United States Film Registry because the film was so "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

After playing America's cowboy, Redford went on to play in another iconic American film: "The Great Gatsby" from 1974. The film featured Redford as Mr. Gatsby himself, placing him in the spotlight and as a heartthrob character with the tragic romance between Daisy, played by Mia Farrow. At this point Redford was already established as a hot figure in Hollywood, his western film having given him a huge name. However, looking back on his career, Redford told Esquire specifically how he wants to be remembered in the industry. He said: 

"For the work. What really matters is the work. And what matters to me is doing the work. I'm not looking at the back end: 'What am I going to get out of this? What's going to be the reward?' I'm just looking at the work, the pleasure of being able to do the work. And that's what the fun is: to climb up the mountain is the fun, not standing at the top. There's nowhere to go. But climbing up, that struggle, that to me is where the fun is. That to me is the thrill. But once that's over, that's kind of it. I don't look too much beyond that."

Eventually, Redford settled down enough during his career to establish a wife and family. He met his first wife, Lola Van Wagenen, shortly upon returning to the United States after a trip to Paris in the 1950s. They married in 1958 but divorced after 27 years of marriage. In an interview with The Guardian, Redford reflected on his marriage as he said:

"I got married very young, at 21. Obviously I don't want to denigrate the person I married, there were a lot of good reasons ... But when you ask me a question, like why?, I have to say it was to save my life. That's what it felt like at the time."

Despite the divorce, the couple had three children: Shauna Redford, James Redford and Amy Redford.

Redford is currently married to Sibylle Szaggars, whom he met in 1996 as per Closer Weekly. Szaggars is an artist hailing from Germany, and her work has been shown in countries like Monaco, Peru, Singapore, Japan, and the United States. After being together for 13 years, the pair tied the knot in 2009. 

Closer Weekly reports that Shauna Redford has not followed her father's footsteps, choosing instead to follow the path of art. She is a successful painter and has been married to her husband Eric Schlosser since 1985. She has two children, Conor Schlosser and Mica Schlosser.

Charles Robert Redford, Jr. was born on August 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California. He made his acting debut in the film "War Hunt" in 1962. He later starred in the films "Jeremiah Johnson," "Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid," "All the President's Men," "Out of Africa," "The Old Man & The Gun," and more recently "Avengers: Endgame." He has received numerous accolades throughout his career.

He was first nominated for an Academy Award in 1973 for his role as Johnny "Kelly" Hooker in "The Sting." He then won Best Director in 1980 for "Ordinary People." He has also been nominated for seven Golden Globes, winning two for "Inside Daisy Clover" as New Star of the Year–Actor in 1965, and for Best Director for "Ordinary People" in 1980. He was awarded the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 1995.

He was also the founder of the iconic Sundance Film Festival which has become a popular place to open films for independent filmmakers in the United States. Unfortunately. James Redford passed away in October 2020 after a long battle with liver cancer. 

Amy Redford was born on October 22, 1970. She studied Drama/Theatre Arts at the San Francisco State University. She then went on to attend the University of Colorado Boulder and later studied theatre in London. When speaking about what she has learned from her dad and what she admires in him, she told KPCW:

"I’ve always been influenced by the strategy, approach, and methodology that my dad uses in his filmmaking. I really admire the way he approaches not only the crew but the actors and the stories he likes to tell. Having that kind of mentorship for I think both my brother and I has been incredibly meaningful but of course we’re our own people. It’s kind of hard to compare.”

It is clear to see that Amy has picked up a lot of traits from her father, their charming smile is almost identical, but the similarities between Amy and her dad don't just stop at their looks, they are both visionary artists in their own right.

Amy has starred in films such as "Maid in Manhattan," "This Revolution," and "The Understudy," and on TV shows such as "Sex and the City," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," and "The Sopranos." She also directed the film "The Guitar," which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

Amy has lived in many different places: New York, Los Angeles, London, Arizona, and Colorado, but has spoken about returning to her Utah roots in order to better focus on her craft.

"My parents felt that with the encroaching pressures of celebrity and fame, it was important for all of us to have an experience outside the pressure-filled environment of New York. For my entire childhood, if my siblings and I weren’t in school in New York, we were at the Sundance (Mountain) Resort in Utah," she told Zions Bank.

Despite having been on-the-go for long stretches in her life, Amy Redford has certainly made a name for herself both within and outside of her family legacy. It will be interesting to see how her career develops!

Isn't Amy Redford following in her father Robert Redford's footsteps? Let us know what you think of the father-daughter similarities! Be sure to pass this article on to other Redford fans you know!