The Truth About Robert Redford's First Wife

Robert Redford and Lola Van Wagenen met when he was 20 and she was 17 in Los Angeles, per AARP The Magazine. Shortly after, in 1958, they eloped in Utah, where Wagenen, a Mormon, hails from, according to Mirror. "I was just 19 when we married. I met him in California, where we happened to live in the same apartment building. He was an unknown, struggling young visual artist then," she told Seven Days. Then 19, Van Wagenen dropped out of college and moved with Redford to New York City, The Sun noted. 

The couple welcomed their first child, Scott, in September 1959. Just a year into their marriage, Redford and Van Wagenen were struck by tragedy. That same year, their infant son died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), per Mirror. They went on to have three more children, daughters Shauna and Amy, and son, James, who died of liver cancer in 2020, as reported by Mirror.

In the 1980s, when her children were older, Van Wagenen returned to school and graduated with a degree in American history, according to Seven Days. She continued to invest in her education, earning a master's and a PhD. Since her youth, Van Wagenen has been passionate about social issues. She has been involved with different nonprofits, including the Vermont Historical Society and Shelburne Farms. In addition to her work as a historian and activist, she also executive produces films, Seven Days detailed.

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