The Buddhist scholar was a husband and father of five
Credit: Cindy Ord/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Robert Thurman, the father of actress Uma Thurman, has died
- The Buddhist academic and author was 84
- His death was announced by Tibet House US, the cultural center he co-founded
Robert Thurman, the father of actress Uma Thurman, has died. He was 84.
The death of the author and academic was announced via social media by Tibet House US, the cultural center he co-founded.
“We are deeply saddened to announce that Robert A.F. Thurman @bob__thurman, prominent American Buddhist scholar, co-founder of Tibet House US, author and translator whose teachings shaped countless lives, died Tuesday morning, June 16, in Woodstock, New York,” the Instagram statement read.
Credit: Laura Cavanaugh/FilmMagic
The post included a well-known Tibetan Buddhism mantra, “Om Mani Padme Hum,” which translates to “the jewel in the lotus,” and represents the sacred call of Avalokiteshvara, which is said to give infinite compassion.
The Thurman family is requesting privacy at this time, the statement added.
Those who knew the educator and respected his work offered their condolences in the comment section.
“A giant has left the stage. Robert Thurman helped build a bridge between the wisdom of Tibet and the modern world without sacrificing depth, rigor, humor, or humanity,” Ben Decker, a meditation teacher and program director at Rythmia, wrote.
"Deepest condolences to the Thurman family and Tibet House dharma community. Thank you Tenzin Bob! Love you so much precious teacher, living in our hearts," Alex Grey, co-founder of Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, wrote.
Robert served as the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies in the Department of Religion at Columbia University for 30 years until 2020, according to his website.
He was also named by The New York Times the leading American expert on Tibetan Buddhism, and TIME chose him as one of the 25 most influential Americans in 1997.
Tibet House US is a nonprofit organization that he co-founded to preserve and promote Tibetan culture.
“Thanks to the Tibetan people, especially their living savior, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his various emanations, I have found basic sanity in my lifelong quest,” he said, in part, on his website.
"Tibetan culture is based on a set of principles from the heart of the Buddha’s movement — individualism, nonviolence, educationalism, altruism, and egalitarianism — and could be said to have made not the perfect but the best effort so far in embodying those principles in social reality," Robert told Spirituality & Practice when asked what made the Tibetan culture unique. "This is what makes it so specially worthy of preservation and restoration — though all human cultures are of great intrinsic value.
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Later in that same interview, Robert was asked how he could advocate for Tibet while also often being around movie stars.
"Though I do have different sides and am still a highly imperfect individual, I don’t see any dichotomy between aspiring to practice Buddhist virtues, studying and teaching about the nature of the mind, reality, and history, and having good friends, whether famous or not," he said. "Of course, having a wonderful daughter like Uma is a special bit of good karma — and we are very proud of her."
Robert was married to Uma's mother, Nena Thurman, from 1967 until his death.
In addition to the Kill Bill actress, the couple was parents to Ganden Thurman, 58, Dechen Thurman, 53, and Mipam Thurman, 48.
Robert was also previously married to heiress and costume designer Christophe de Menil, who died in August 2025 at the age of 92. During their marriage, they welcomed Taya Thurman, 66.
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