Robert Redford and his wife

Born on August 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California, to Charles Robert Redford, an accountant for Standard Oil, and Martha Hart. His mother died in 1955, the year after he graduated from high school. Charles Robert Redford Jr. was a scrappy kid who stole hubcaps in high school and lost his college baseball scholarship at the University of Colorado because of drunkenness.
Charles Robert Redford Jr., better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, model, environmentalist, philanthropist, Television and stage experience coupled with all-American good looks led to movies and television roles. His breakthrough role was "The Sundance Kid" in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), when the actor was 32. The Way We Were (1973) and The Sting (1973), both in 1973, made Redford the number one box office star for the next three years. Redford used his clout to advance environmental causes and his riches to acquire Utah property, which he transformed into a ranch and the Sundance ski resort. In 1980, he established the Sundance Institute for aspiring filmmakers. Its annual film festival has become one of the world's most influential.Redford’s been famous so long we all think we know him. But even a short look at his life and work reveals that’s not true at all.

A restless and rootless wanderer of a man, Redford has been described as virtually unknowable by many of those who are closest to him.  That’s exactly the kind of professional challenge a good biographer can’t resist.