Born Charles Robert Redford Jr. on this day in Santa Monica, California (1936–), actor Robert Redford once said, “I like using my own life experiences and wisdom and bringing it to the screen.” That authenticity helped define an era of American cinema.

With charm, charisma, and a thoughtful gaze, he became a star with Barefoot in the Park, then iconic through Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) alongside Paul Newman. The early 1970s brought global stardom with The Way We Were, The Sting, and The Great Gatsby.

“If you were me for a month,” he once said about fame, “you might want to change it to two weeks.”

Redford earned an Oscar for directing the family drama Ordinary People in 1980. “I've found my greatest acceptance as an artist behind the camera,” he explained. “There, it has nothing to do with how you look.”

Wrinkles and all, he remains grounded. “I'm not a facelift person. I am what I am.”

With integrity and quiet vision, he founded the Sundance Institute in 1981 to support independent film. “Storytellers broaden our minds,” he explained. “Engage, provoke, inspire, and ultimately, connect us.”

From leading man to leading movement, Redford reshaped the art of film.