Robert Redford

Robert Young who was a star at MGM in the 1930s and starred in the TV series "Father Knows Best" and "Marcus Welby MD" was a cousin of his mother.

In the early 1970s Paramount had plans to remake Double Indemnity (1944) with Redford in the Fred MacMurray role. The project never got off the ground.

Mid-1950s: Was a pitcher on the University of Colorado baseball team.

He and famed Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale were in the same high school graduating class (Van Nuys High School, Class of 1954).

Father of Shauna Redford (born on 15 November 1960), James Redford (born on 15 May 1962) and Amy Redford (born on 22 October 1970). His oldest son Scott was born in 1959 and died shortly after from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

1960: He spent his last $500 on two acres of land in Utah, an investment that would ultimately grow to 5,000 acres becoming home to his Sundance Institute. Founded by Redford in 1969, Sundance is located at the base of Utah's picturesque Mt. Timpanogos.

Lifelong friends with Sydney Pollack both men having made their feature film acting debuts in War Hunt (1962).

During his senior year at Van Nuys High School, he met 15-year old sophomore Natalie Wood, who was already a star. Later in life, they starred together in Inside Daisy Clover (1965) and This Property Is Condemned (1966) and became good friends.

Appeared in 7 movies that were directed by Sydney Pollack: This Property Is Condemned (1966), Jeremiah Johnson (1972), The Way We Were (1973), Three Days of the Condor (1975), The Electric Horseman (1979), Out of Africa (1985) and Havana (1990/I). They also both appeared in War Hunt (1962).

Turned down the leading roles in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), The Graduate (1967), Rosemary's Baby (1968), Love Story (1970) and The Day of the Jackal (1973).

Lost out on the role of Ben Braddock in The Graduate (1967) because director Mike Nichols didn't think anyone would believe Redford would have trouble getting "the girl".

Has done 11 period pieces, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Sting (1973), The Natural (1984) and Out of Africa (1985).

He is the founder of the Sundance Film Festival, which he named after his character from the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).

Turned down the role in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969).

His performance as the Sundance Kid in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) is ranked #20 on the American Film Institute's 100 Heroes & Villains. This is a ranking he shares with Paul Newman, who portrayed Butch Cassidy.

1970s: Considered running for the U.S. Senate seat in his home state of Utah.

After his suggestions of Warren Beatty, Alain Delon and Burt Reynolds to play the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972) were rejected by Francis Ford Coppola, Paramount production chief Robert Evans suggested Redford. When Coppola demurred, preferring his first choice of Tony Awar-winning Broadway actor Al Pacino, Evans explained that Redford could fit the role as he could be perceived as "northern Italian." Evans lost the struggle, Pacino was cast and a star was born.

Has appeared in seven movies dealing with adultery in some form or another: The Way We Were (1973), The Great Gatsby (1974), Out of Africa (1985), Havana (1990/I), Indecent Proposal (1993), The Horse Whisperer (1998), and The Clearing (2004).

Dislikes watching his own films. The only film in which he was completely satisfied with his own performance was The Sting (1973).

His performance as Bob Woodward in All the President's Men (1976) is ranked #27 on the American Film Institute's 100 Heroes & Villains. This is a ranking he shares with Dustin Hoffman, who portrayed Carl Bernstein.

Directed 4 actors in Oscar nominated performances: Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, Timothy Hutton, and Paul Scofield. Hutton won for his performance in Ordinary People (1980).

Was originally attached to The Verdict (1982), but dropped out prior to production because he didn't want the character to be "such a loser". Director Sidney Lumet was dismayed by Redford's demands to change the script. The role of Frank Galvin was taken over by his friend Paul Newman, who won an Oscar nomination.

As a guest on "Inside the Actors Studio" (1994) (30 Jan. 2005), Redford confessed to host James Lipton that his favorite and least favorite words were, respectively, "Possible" and "Whatever".

1995: Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#4).

German painter Sibylle Szaggars has been his longtime companion since 1996.

1996: Awarded the American National Medal of the Arts by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington, DC.

He set up the Sundance Film Institute in Utah for independent filmmakers and in 1997 announced the creation of Sundance Cinemas, a venture with a major distributer to set up a chain of theaters for the screening of independent films. As of 2011, at least two are open.

2002: Awarded an honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement as the creator of Sundance, an inspiration to independent and innovative filmmakers everywhere.

2004: In addition to being the graduation speaker for Bard College's 144th Commencement, he also received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the college.

2005: Recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors. Other recipients were Tina Turner, Tony Bennett, Suzanne Farrell and Julie Harris.

2005: Premiere Magazine ranked him as #17 on a list of the Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in their Stars in Our Constellation feature.

Married his longtime girlfriend, 51-year-old Sibylle Szaggars in Germany on July 11, 2009 at Louis C. Jacob hotel.