Robert Redford's youngest daughter, Amy Redford, took a moment to reflect on her late father's legacy ahead of the upcoming Sundance Film Festival, which he founded in 1978. The 55-year-old sat down on the Today show to discuss the event, and explained how Robert taught his children to chase their dreams.
"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 shared on the show, adding that Robert remained a "playful, curious, and kind" father until the end.
"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. That's something that I think all of us bring to the table to this day, and I'm very proud of that," she added.
Robert famously purchased the Timp Haven ski resort in Sundance, Utah, in 1969, and converted it into a home for himself and his family. The property was renamed Sundance Mountain Resort after his character from the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It was here that he passed away from natural causes in September 2025, aged 89.
The actor raised four kids with his first wife, Lola Van Wagenen: Scott, who was born in September 1959 and died of SIDS just two months later; Shauna, born in 1960; James, born in 1962, who passed away from bile duct cancer in October 2020; and Amy, born in 1970.
Amy, who works as a filmmaker like her father, explained just how deep Robert's impact in the film industry runs today, thanks to his decision to start the Sundance Film Festival in the late '70s, a move which he was advised against by industry heavyweights.
"If you tell him not to do it, that just means it hasn't been done yet," she quipped. "He decided, 'Well, I have some platform, and I'm going to use it to change the world.'"
She continued: "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." Amy added that Robert was "not a person to look over his shoulder," and that his legacy lived on in the festival.
"I think his legacy is really about giving forward, 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."
Ryan was nominated for Best Director – Motion Picture at the 2026 Golden Globes for his work on Sinners, which went on to win the Cinematic and Box Office Achievement Award and Best Original Score – Motion Picture.
Meanwhile, Chloé was also nominated for Best Director at the Golden Globes for Hamnet, which won the coveted Best Motion Picture – Drama Award and Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama. Sundance will kick off on January 22 in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah.
Amy followed in her father's filmmaking footsteps with her work directing 2022's Roost and producing The Lincoln Project. "As a kid, I witnessed the process of my dad making films and the extraordinary cast of characters that came together to make it happen," she told IndieWire.
"I found myself drawn to the nomadic and creative life that that implied...What led me to actually having the opportunity to do it was a combination of luck, timing and stubbornness."