Who is Robert Redford's wife, Sibylle Szaggars? Inside her life, art, and marriage to the late actor

Robert Redford’s death at age 89 has brought attention to the woman who stood by him for more than 20 years, artist Sibylle Szaggars. They met in Utah in the late 1990s and got married in 2009. Their shared love of art and the environment made their relationship very private but also crucial.

How did Robert Redford and Sibylle Szaggars get to know each other?

Robert Redford and Sibylle Szaggars first met in the late 1990s at his Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah.


Redford had just divorced his first wife, Lola Van Wagenen, at the time. Szaggars, who didn't know much about Redford's movies, said she only watched parts of them before going to a dinner he invited her to, as per a report by People.

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Redford later said that her lack of knowledge helped them connect on a human level, without any Hollywood expectations getting in the way. The couple's relationship got stronger over time, and they got married in private in Hamburg, Germany, in July 2009, as per a report by People.

What makes her work as an artist unique?

Szaggars has been a visual artist for more than 40 years. He was born on April 9, 1957, in Hamburg, Germany. She does a lot of different kinds of art, like painting, photography, and performance art. Her work has been shown in galleries all over Europe, Asia, South America, and the United States.


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She started drawing and painting at a young age because she traveled a lot as a child. Indigenous cultures and ancient landscapes were common themes in her art, especially in her series from the mid-1990s that showed how the environment was harming the American buffalo.

"From the beginning of my career as an artist, nature was the force that inspired me to be an activist from within my art, warning of the impending dangers of extinction, but also pointing out through color and beauty how incredible this earth is,” Sibylle Szaggars once stated, as per a report by People.

What has Sibylle Szaggars done to help the environment?

Robert Redford was not only a Hollywood star but also deeply committed to environmental advocacy and the support of independent filmmakers.

Just like her husband, Sibylle Szaggars is also passionate about nature, and her work has always been about protecting the environment, as per a report by People.

Since she was a young child, Szaggars has been passionate about the environment. She traveled extensively with her family and learned about ancient lands and indigenous cultures.

"I learned that all these people had one thing in common. They respected nature and the environments they lived in, and they celebrated Earth within their ceremonial acts," she said, reported by Big Life Magazine.

"I was more than aware that Western or 'modernized' cultures had moved away from paying attention to all of this."

In 2015, she started The Way of the Rain, a nonprofit that uses art to raise awareness about environmental issues. Her 2013 multimedia work of the same name, which combined art, music, and storytelling to show how important it is to protect the Earth, led to the formation of the group, as per a report by People.

Robert Redford backed the project and was the foundation's vice president until he died. Her views on the environment were very similar to Redford's. He had also been shaped by a lifelong love of nature, especially from his time in Utah as a child.

The couple worked together to support causes that wanted to protect the Earth for future generations.

How did her family affect her relationship with Redford?

Sibylle Szaggars and Robert Redford didn't have any kids together, but she did become the stepmother of his four kids from his marriage to Van Wagenen. Shauna and Amy were his daughters, and Scott, who sadly died of SIDS as a baby, and James, who died of liver cancer in 2020, were his sons.

James became both a filmmaker and an activist, just like his father. In 2005, he helped start The Redford Center to make powerful environmental documentaries.

Redford and Szaggars mostly kept their relationship to themselves, but he did say that she was "a very special person" who gave him "a whole new life." Their marriage was based on more than just love; they both cared deeply about art, activism, and protecting the environment.

FAQs

What year did Robert Redford and Sibylle Szaggars get married?
In 2009, they got married in Hamburg, Germany.


What does Sibylle Szaggars do for a living?
She is an artist who works in many different media and fights for the environment.