Inside Robert Redford’s Family Tree — From His Four Children to Seven Grandchildren

Actor Robert Redford is remembered as one of Hollywood’s most iconic actors, but behind the scenes, family played a defining role in his life. The Academy Award winner built Sundance and starred in classics like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, yet he often spoke about how his greatest influence came from those closest to him.

Much of Robert’s story can be traced through his family, beginning with the four children he shared with his first wife, Lola Van Wagenen, and continuing with the seven grandchildren who have followed their own creative paths.

Robert and Lola welcomed four children together: Scott, Shauna, James, and Amy.

Their first child, Scott, died of SIDS in 1959 at just two and a half months old. In later interviews, Robert acknowledged how the loss lingered, shaping his outlook even as his career took off.

He told Esquire, "I was only 21; my wife was 20. We were just starting our lives ... Of course, it was traumatic, and how that plays out over time, I don't know. We had to deal with it."

Shauna, born in 1960, pursued art and married journalist and author Eric Schlosser. They have two children, Mica and Conor, both of whom have found careers in creative industries.

James “Jamie” Redford was born in 1962 and became a filmmaker and activist. He and his wife, Kyle, welcomed two children: Dylan and Lena. According to People, he co-founded The Redford Center in 2005 with his father, producing documentaries focused on the environment and health issues.

Jamie died in 2020 at age 58 from bile-duct cancer and his son Dylan took his place at The Redford Center that same year.

Amy, the youngest, was born in 1970. Like her siblings, she built a career in film, directing and acting across projects big and small. She has three daughters, including Eden and a set of twins. In her podcast, Scrappy Broads, she often speaks about the challenges and joys of balancing motherhood with a creative life.

In 2018, Robert told The Salt Lake Tribune that Sundance would one day be in the hands of his children and grandchildren, reflecting the family’s connection to the arts. "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. Basically, they're inheriting what I started, and they're going to keep it going with my grandchildren."

Across the next generation, seven grandchildren reflect the family’s creative streak: Shauna’s Mica and Conor; James’s Dylan and Lena; and Amy’s three daughters. Several have worked in film, art, or media, echoing Redford’s belief in storytelling as a force for change.

From Sundance to The Redford Center, and from his children to his grandchildren, Robert’s legacy stretches far beyond the screen. It lives on in the art, activism, and storytelling carried forward by his family, a continuation of the values that defined his life both on and off camera.