Who is Lola Van Wagenen? All about Robert Redford's ex-wife as actor dies at 89

On Tuesday, September 16, actor Robert Redford passed away at the age of 89. While the exact cause of the Butch Cassidy actor's death is not known at the moment, a spokesperson for Redford shared that he passed away in his sleep in his home in Provo, Utah. 

BREAKING: RobertRedford dead at 89.

- Redford received the presidential medal of freedom from Barack Obama

- He also fought hard against Climate changed denial and helped with work at the EPA.

RIP pic.twitter.com/ppB7pnnYDT

— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) September 16, 2025

Robert is survived by his two children and Sibylle Szaggars, who was his long-time partner and second wife. Before Redford tied the knot with Szaggars in 2009, he was married to Lola Van Wagenen for more than two decades.

Lola Van Wagenen is an American historian, activist, and film producer, known for her movies The Mike Douglas Show (1961), American Experience (1988), and The State of Marriage (2015). 

Wagenena also runs an educational non-profit organization, called Consumer Action Now (CAN), which she co-founded back in 1970. Lola is also the co-founder of Clio Visualizing History, Inc. - a comaony she co-founded in 1995, which became a non-profit in 2003. 

Lola Van Wagenen is a Ph.D holder from NYU

Lola Van Wagenen and Robert Redford wedding, September 21 1958. In Utah! pic.twitter.com/lJWAa7TGXy

— Jon Maas (@jondmaas) May 21, 2024

Born and raised in Provo, Utah, Lola Van Wagenan graduated from Vermont College in 1982, getting her master's degree in Public History from NYU two years later. 

A decade later, Wagenen completed her Ph. D in American History from the same university. In 2003, she her dissertation at NYU was published as book, titled Sister-Wives and Suffragists: Polygamy and the Politics of Woman Suffrage 1970-1986.

Lola completed her education in her 50s, and was both married and divorced before that. 

The producer first met Robert Redford in 1957 in LA, and started going out with him soon afterwards. A year later, in August 1958, the couple got married in a private ceremony in Las Vegas. According to The Sun, she also dropped out of college to get married to The Sundance Kid actor.

Wagenan and Redford shared four children during the course of their marriage - two daughters and two sons. 

Their first son, Scott Anthony, passed away due to a sudden case of infant death syndrome after less than three months of birth. Their second son, David James died battling liver cancer in 2020. 

Their daughters, Shauna Jean and Amy Hart, are their only living children, with the latter being an actress, director, and producer, like her parents. 

​While the exact reason behind their divorce was never revealed, the couple had lived separately for years before ending their marriage in 1985.  

After almost two decades of their divorce, Lola Van Wagenan got married to George Burrill in 2002, who, like her, is also a Ph. D. holder. Meanwhile, Redford, who was dating Sibylle Szaggars for a long time, finally tied the knot with her in 2009.