Inside Robert Redford and Wife Sibylle Szaggars’ Love Story

Robert Redford, who passed away on September 16th at the age of 89, was far from an ordinary person. He was a Hollywood icon, remembered for his captivating performances and award-winning directing.

His wife, Sibylle Szaggars, connected with him on a deeper level by looking beyond his celebrity and seeing the man beneath the fame.

Their romance began in the late 1990s at Redford’s Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah, where Szaggars, a German artist, met him during a ski trip. This was also the location of the Sundance Institute, which Redford established to champion independent filmmakers.

Szaggars shared in a 2014 interview that she was familiar with Redford’s work, having enjoyed films like *Jeremiah Johnson* and *Barefoot in the Park*. However, she explained she wasn’t particularly focused on movies, preferring musicals, opera, painting, and artists like Salvador Dalí and Picasso.

When Robert Redford invited her and some friends to dinner, actress Szaggars realized she hadn’t seen any of his movies. Luckily, a friend suggested she could rent a few from the Sundance Film Festival’s reception. Szaggars rented about six or eight videos, but didn’t have time to watch them fully. Instead, she randomly watched about 15 minutes of each, worried he might bring up his work and she’d be embarrassed. As it turned out, he didn’t discuss his films at all.

Redford felt the collaboration would have worked even if his co-star hadn’t known his previous work. He explained during a panel discussion with the National YoungArts Foundation that he appreciated she didn’t have preconceived notions about him. This allowed them to connect on an equal footing, free from any expectations or past successes. He valued starting the relationship as simply two people getting to know each other and forming a genuine connection.

As their relationship developed in the early 2000s, Szaggars accompanied Robert Redford to events like film premieres, the Sundance Film Festival, and New York Fashion Week. She also supported him at important moments, including when he received an honorary Oscar in 2002 and a Kennedy Center Honor in 2005.

Despite being seen together publicly, the couple largely kept their relationship private, and they didn’t share details about his proposal in 2008.

Redford simply told the German magazine *Bunte* at the time, according to *The Telegraph*, “We are engaged and very happy with that. She is my fiancée and that says everything, doesn’t it?”

As a longtime observer of relationships, I’ve always admired how Robert Redford and Sibylle Szaggars navigated their connection. They really blossomed in the early 2000s, and I remember seeing them together at so many glamorous events – film premieres, Sundance, even New York Fashion Week! I was also touched to see Sibylle supporting Robert at such important moments in his career, like when he received his honorary Oscar in 2002 and was honored at the Kennedy Center in 2005. What I always found fascinating, though, was how private they were. Despite all the public appearances, they kept the details of their life incredibly close to the vest – even keeping his 2008 proposal under wraps! Robert eventually shared the news with a German magazine, simply saying they were engaged and very happy, and honestly, that really spoke volumes about their relationship. It was clear they didn’t *need* to shout it from the rooftops to know they had something special.

The following year, they got married in Hamburg, Germany. With the marriage, Szaggars became stepmother to Robert Redford’s three children: Shauna Redford, Amy Redford, and James Redford (who sadly passed away in 2020). Redford also had a son, Scott Redford, with his first wife, Lola Van Wagenen, but Scott passed away in infancy.

In 2011, the director of *Ordinary People* described Szaggars to AARP as a remarkable woman. He noted she was significantly younger than him and, being European, brought a fresh perspective to his life.

They shared a deep connection through their love of art and commitment to protecting the environment. While Robert Redford and Szaggars occasionally appeared together in public – most recently at a 2021 event for The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation – they largely kept their private life private.

When Redford passed away, his representative shared that he died peacefully at his beloved home in Sundance, Utah, surrounded by family and friends.

For a look back at his life through photos, continue reading.