Jane Fonda Mourns Beloved Co Star Robert Redford In Emotional Statement

Jane Fonda expressed deep emotion upon learning of Robert Redford’s passing.

“The news of Bob’s death this morning deeply affected me. I’m overwhelmed with tears,” the 87-year-old actress conveyed in a statement to Us Weekly on Tuesday, September 16. “He held immense significance in my life and was a truly remarkable individual. He epitomized an American ideal that we must continue to strive for."

Reports emerged on Tuesday confirming Redford passed away peacefully at his residence in Utah. His publicist, Cindi Berger, informed The New York Times that the actor passed away in his sleep. He was 89 years old.

Redford leaves behind his wife, Sibylle Szaggars, along with his daughters Shauna, 64, and Amy, 54 — born from his marriage to his first wife, Lola Van Wagenen — and seven grandchildren. (The former couple also had a son, James, who succumbed to cancer in October 2020 at 58, and another son, Scott, who passed away from SIDS in 1959 at two months old.)

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Over their careers, Fonda and Redford collaborated on numerous films. Their initial joint project was the 1960 movie Tall Story, followed by appearances with Marlon Brando in the 1966 feature The Chase and in Barefoot in the Park the subsequent year. Fonda and Redford again joined forces ten years later for The Electric Horseman.

In recent times, Fonda and Redford partnered for the 2017 Netflix production Our Souls at Night. This particular film marked one of Redford's last major roles before his retirement from prominent acting. His final screen appearances included brief parts in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame and in 2025’s Dark Winds.

Fonda had previously disclosed her romantic interest in Redford during their collaborations, though she never acted on it.

“I consistently harbored feelings for Robert Redford,” she revealed to the Guardian in 2015. “Despite starring in three movies with him, nothing romantic materialized as both of us were married."

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Although Redford was unaware of Fonda’s profound affection for him, he described in a 2017 Esquire interview that he and Fonda shared a “remarkably unique bond” that originated early in their professional lives.

“There was an instant connection. Regardless of the complexities of her life — which were considerable — or my own, whenever we worked together, those external factors vanished,” he clarified. “It was simply her and me, collaborating. It didn't need much examination; it simply aligned naturally.”

Redford further stated that he consistently “held great respect” for Fonda’s “unyielding strength as a woman.”