NEED TO KNOW
- Jane Fonda paid tribute to her longtime friend Robert Redford after he died at age 89 on Tuesday, Sept. 16
- The actress, who was friends with Redford for over six decades, said, “He stood for an America we have to keep fighting for”
- Redford died at his home in the mountains outside Provo, Utah; a cause of death is yet to be confirmed
Jane Fonda is paying tribute to her longtime friend Robert Redford following his death at age 89.
Redford died on Tuesday, Sept. 16, “at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah — the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved,” Cindi Berger, chairman and CEO of Rogers & Cowan PMK, told PEOPLE in a statement.
“He will be missed greatly. The family requests privacy,” Berger added.
According to The New York Times, the first outlet to report the actor’s death, Redford died at his home outside Provo on Tuesday morning. No cause of death was given, but Berger told the publication in a statement that he died in his sleep.
Fonda, 87, was among the many actors remembering the star of classic films such as 1969’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and 1985’s Out of Africa.
In a statement shared with various outlets, Fonda said of Redford, whom she was friends with for over six decades, “It hit me hard this morning when I read that Bob was gone. I can’t stop crying. He meant a lot to me and was a beautiful person in every way. He stood for an America we have to keep fighting for.”
The pair — who first worked together in 1960’s Tall Story before collaborating again in 1966’s The Chase, 1967’s Barefoot in the Park, 1979’s The Electric Horseman and 2017’s Our Souls at Night — had one of the sweetest (and longest-lasting) friendships in Hollywood.
In addition to showing support for one another at multiple events over the years, the pair also spoke about their friendship in several interviews.
While speaking to PEOPLE in 2008, Fonda reflected on working with Redford in Barefoot in the Park, noting, “He is so handsome and just such a wonderful human being,” adding, “Every movie I made with him, I developed a crush on him.”
She then revealed during an interview with The Guardian in May 2015 why nothing ever developed between them romantically.
“I was always in love with Robert Redford,” she told the publication. “I made three films with him and nothing happened because I was married and he was married.”
Redford told The Telegraph two years later, “I didn’t know she was in love with me!”
In May 2023, Fonda then reflected on her roles with Redford during an interview with Vulture, again saying, “I was in love with him.”
“I made four films with him, and for three, I was in love with him. Which meant I had a really good time,” she added. However, she noted that the only problem was that “he did not like to kiss.”
“He was always in a bad mood, and I always thought it was my fault,” she said, noting that her perception changed when they did Our Souls at Night.
“I knew I was finally grown up, because when he’d come on to the set three hours late in a bad mood, I knew it wasn’t my fault. We always had a good time. He’s a very good person,” she told the outlet.
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Redford’s death comes after he returned to the screen for the first time in six years in March 2025, with a cameo in Dark Winds. This ended up being his final role.
Leading up to the cameo, Redford had lent his voice to 2020’s Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia, as well as his wife Sibylle Szaggars Redford’s 2024 performance art piece “The Way of the Rain — Hope for Earth.”
Redford is survived by his wife, daughters Shauna and Amy and grandchildren.
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