Robert Redford and his second wife, Sibylle Szaggars, were married for 16 years before the Hollywood legend’s death at 89.
The couple met in the late 1990s after Redford’s divorce from his first wife, and went on to tie the knot in 2009.
Although the “Out of Africa” star called Szaggars, 68, a “very special person” during an interview with AARP in 2011, the couple largely kept their relationship private.
Here is everything to know about Redford’s widow following his passing on Sept. 16, 2025.
The pair met in 1996 at Redford’s Sundance Mountain Resort
The “Candidate” star and Szaggars, a German environmentalist and multimedia artist, first connected 11 years after Redford’s 1985 divorce from his first wife, Lola Van Wagenen.
Redford reportedly invited his future wife and her friends to dinner after a day of skiing at his Utah resort, and Szaggars panicked because she “didn’t know any of his films” at the time.
“I thought, ‘What if he wants to talk about his movies?’ I have no idea — that would be so embarrassing,” Szaggars, who quickly rented and watched snippets of Redford’s most popular flicks before the dinner, recalled during a panel for the YoungArts Salon in 2014.
“I probably would have mixed everything,” she added. “Of course, he did not talk about it, so I was rescued and saved.”
Redford, meanwhile, was happy that Szaggars didn’t know much about him before their first meeting. He said they “started from a more even playing field” and “didn’t have to worry about any agenda.”
“It was a wonderful beginning of a relationship, because it began as two human beings meeting each other and finding a connection as two human beings, rather than being colored by success,” the “Great Gatsby” star recalled during the panel.
Redford revealed he and Szaggars were engaged in 2008
The “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” star announced that he and Szaggars were getting married during an interview with the German magazine Bunte in May 2022.
Although Redford did not say when he popped the question, he did refer to Szaggars as his fiancée for the first time during the chat with Bunte.
“We are engaged and very happy with that,” the “Sting” star said at the time. “She is my fiancée, and that says everything, doesn’t it?”
The couple married in 2009
Redford and his bride-to-be tied the knot during a private wedding ceremony at the Louis C. Jacob Hotel in Szaggars’s hometown of Hamburg, Germany, in July 2009.
Only 30 of the couple’s closest family and friends were in attendance, and Pastor Frank Engelbrecht of the city’s St. Catherine Church later told People that Redford and Szaggars insisted on a “very intimate ceremony.”
Redford opened up about Szaggars in 2011
Despite keeping their relationship largely private, the “Jeremiah Johnson” star spoke about his wife during his candid interview with AARP in 2011.
After calling her a “very special person,” Redford joked about some of the things he appreciated most about Szaggars.
“She’s younger than I am, and European, which I like, so that’s a whole new life,” he said.
Redford and Szaggars shared a passion for environmental activism
Besides being a Hollywood legend, Redford was an outspoken activist who dedicated the last years of his life to protecting the environment.
Szaggars, a famous environmentalist in Germany, founded a nonprofit organization called The Way of the Rain in 2015. Redford served as vice president.
Dedicated to “developing, producing and performing educational and artistic performances,” The Way of the Rain was “themed and designed to promote public awareness to support the protection of our Earth.”
“Exploring man’s relationship to nature has always been a part of my work,” Redford wrote in a blurb on the nonprofit’s website. “During times like these, art can foster a deeper understanding and connection to the earth.”
“We desperately need these messages right now,” he concluded.
The couple was later honored for their environmental activism at the Ryerson Woods’ 35th annual Smith Nature Symposium & Benefit in 2018. Szaggars performed a piece, titled “The Way of the Rain – Voice of Hope,” during the event.
“Sibylle and I were honored to receive this award at Brushwood Center, a place that provokes thought and provides inspiration to protect our natural world,” Redford said after the ceremony, per Better Magazine.
The “Barefoot in the Park” actor and his wife attended another awards ceremony, this time for the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, in 2021 to join and recognize their “deep commitment to preserving our planet.”
Redford and Szaggars did not share any children
Although the “Natural” actor and Szaggars did not welcome any kids of their own during their 16-year marriage, Szaggars did become a stepmom to the acting icon’s three children, whom he shared with Van Wagenen.
Redford and his first wife welcomed four kids during their nearly three decades together: Scott, Shauna, David and Amy.
Scott Anthony Redford
The “Indecent Proposal” star and Van Wagenen, who married in 1958, welcomed their first son in September 1959.
However, Scott tragically passed away from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome less than three months later.
Redford opened up about the “trauma” he experienced losing his infant son during an emotional interview with Esquire in 2017.
“How does that show up in my work? I don’t know. I was only 21; my wife was 20. We were just starting our lives; I was just starting my career in New York,” he told the outlet at the time. “Of course, it was traumatic, and how that plays out over time, I don’t know. We had to deal with it. You have to move on.”
“And we had other children who came,” Redford continued. “But something like that doesn’t get completely dismissed. It probably shows up in various small ways you’re not even aware of. I’m sure there’s a lot of this stuff that’s subconscious.”
“But it’s pretty traumatic when it happens, particularly when you’re that young,” he concluded. “You’re not equipped to deal with it.”
Shauna Redford
Redford and Van Wagenen welcomed their second child, daughter Shauna, in November 1960.
Although the 64-year-old largely keeps her personal life private, Redford mentioned Shauna in 2018 while discussing the Sundance Institute, the arts nonprofit he founded in 1981, following his retirement.
“I’ve been spending a lot of time bringing my children — Shauna and Amy and Jamie — into the picture, and now they’re there and they’re in a position to run the show,” he told the Salt Lake Tribune at the time.
“Basically, they’re inheriting what I started,” Redford added, “and they’re going to keep it going with my grandchildren.”
David James “Jamie” Redford
Redford and Van Wagenen’s third child, son Jamie, was born in May 1962.
During a chat with HollywoodChicago.com in 2016, Redford’s son discussed the advantages and disadvantages of having a famous father like his.
“There can be no argument that I’m in a unique situation, at the very least,” he told the outlet. “But I think the name, for every time it has proved to be helpful, it has also proved to be a challenge.”
“At the end of the day, the task I have is just like anyone else, to prove myself through my product or work,” Jamie added. “I’ve really found this to be true, that it’s a zero-sum game.”
Jamie, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2019, died from bile-duct cancer in his liver in October 2020. He was 58 and left behind a wife, Kyle, and two kids of his own.
Amy Hart Redford
Redford and his first wife welcomed their fourth and last child, daughter Amy, in October 1970.
She studied theater at San Francisco State University to become an actor like her father, and later admitted Redford’s career helped “draw” her to the industry as well.
“As a kid, I witnessed the process of my dad making films and the extraordinary cast of characters that came together to make it happen,” Amy, 54, told IndieWire in 2008. “I found myself drawn to the nomadic and creative life that that implied.”
“I am able to talk to my dad in a way a lot of people can’t,” she added during a chat with the New York Times that same year. “He still drives me nuts, he’s still my dad, but I have to say, in light of what his universe was, he had his eye on the ball in terms of having kids, and part of that was being raised in Manhattan.”
Redford called his children his ‘greatest achievement’
The “Way We Were” actor revealed that being a father was both his most rewarding challenge and his “greatest achievement” years before his death this week at 89.
“The hardest thing in the world is when your children have problems,” he told People in 1998. “There have been so many hits on our family that no one knows about, and I don’t want them to, for my family’s sake.”
“I’ve made some interesting movies, and I’ve been very satisfied with the work, but if someone wrapped it all up and said to me, ‘What’s your greatest achievement?’ I’d say, ‘The children.’ They’re the best thing in my life,” he concluded.
Besides Szaggars and his daughters, Shauna and Amy, Redford is survived by seven grandkids.
