Robert Redford’s Daughter Amy Reflects on What Her Dad Taught Her and His Legacy Following His Death

Robert Redford taught his daughter Amy Redford some valuable life lessons when she was young.

On Monday, January 19, Amy, 55, sat down with Laura Jarrett and Peter Alexander on Today and reflected on growing up with the legendary actor, who passed away in his sleep in September at 89.

“He was playful and curious and kind, and I think what he taught us to do is really find the thing that we’re most passionate about and the things that we think might be able to change the world,” she remarked.

“The best thing I think he did for my family was raise us between New York City and the mountains of Sundance — because we got to live between the city and in natural law — and taught us a very strong value of stewardship,” Amy continued. “That’s something that I think all of us bring to the table to this day, and I’m very proud of that.”

Amy also discussed the Sundance Film Festival, which is happening this month and will be the first year it takes place without its founder.

“For my dad, if you tell him not to do it, that just means it hasn’t been done yet. He decided, ‘Well, I have some platform, and I’m going to use it to change the world,'” Amy explained, referring to the acclaimed director creating Sundance. “And I think knowing that there were so many stories out there that needed to be told, that weren’t being told, and that there were amazing storytellers that hadn’t been seen yet was really his most foundational motivation.”

As for what the Oscar winner wanted his legacy to look like, Amy admitted, “He was not a person to look over his shoulder.”

“I think his legacy is really about giving forward,” she said. “And I think him being able to do things like found The Redford Center with my late brother Jamie Redford, being able to know that every single artist that came through the Sundance Institute would maybe one day be out in the public sphere like Ryan Coogler and Chloé Zhao and all of the people that come and celebrate the organization moving forward.”

Besides Amy, the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid actor shared son Scott, who died of sudden infant death syndrome when he was only a few months old, and son James, who lost his battle to cancer in 2020, as well as daughter Shauna, 65, with ex-wife Lola Van Wagenen.