Jane Fonda is mourning Robert Redford’s death.
Fonda, 87, addressed her “Barefoot in the Park” co-star’s death at age 89 on Tuesday, shortly after the news broke.
“It hit me hard this morning when I read that Bob was gone,” Fonda said in a statement to The Post via her rep.
“I can’t stop crying,” Fonda continued. “He meant a lot to me and was a beautiful person in every way. He stood for an America we have to keep fighting for.”
The actress later posted a lengthy statement on her Instagram, sharing an image from their film “Our Souls at Night.”
“Bob made a real difference in all good ways. He represented an America we must now fight to protect. He revolutionized independent film making and made us swoon in so many movies. I am very sad today. Cried all morning. But luckily I can think back on so many joyful, laughter-filled moments when his practical jokes would crack me up,” she wrote. “I feel so lucky to have made one of his first big movies with him, ‘Barefoot in the Park’ (I fell madly in love with him on that one) and his last (the aforementioned ‘Souls at Night’).”
She concluded: “I was wanting to go see him these last few months to make sure we were all right between us but I didn’t act on it soon enough. Lesson learned. When people are our age, late 80s, don’t wait. Thank you, dearest Bob, for all the pleasure you brought over the years. RIP.”
Redford and Fonda created a long-lasting friendship from working together in five movies.
They first teamed up in 1960’s “Tall Story,” followed by 1966’s “The Chase,” 1967’s “Barefoot in the Park” and 1979’s “The Electric Horseman.”
Directed by Gene Saks, “Barefoot in the Park” starred Redford and Fonda as a newlywed couple living in a five-flight walk-up apartment in New York City. Fonda was nominated for a BAFTA Award for her performance.
50 years later, the actors reunited on-screen for the last time for the Netflix rom-com “Our Souls at Night.” Both stars attended the film’s premiere at the 2017 Venice Film Festival.
While promoting the movie on “Today” in Sept. 2017, Redford said working with Fonda is always “easy.”
“We’ve done many films over the years so it just worked out that way, that there was not a lot of discussion, we didn’t have to talk about a lot,” he said. “Things just kind of fell into place between us, and there wasn’t much more to think about.”
That same month, Redford called Fonda a “force” during their joint appearance on “Megyn Kelly Today.”
“As long as I’ve known Jane she’s always moving forward, and doesn’t look back,” the Oscar winner explained. “And whatever pain, whatever problems she’s had in the past, remains in the past and she keeps moving forward. It’s an admirable quality, and very few people have it like Jane does.”
Fonda told the Hollywood Reporter at the time that she “couldn’t keep my hands off” Redford when they filmed “Barefoot in the Park.”
“I was constantly forcing myself on him. In ‘Our Souls at Night,’ the dynamic of my character to his character was somewhat similar. I just love the fact that these films bookend our careers,” she shared.
“We played that young love, just getting married, [in ‘Barefoot,’] and now we play old people love and old people sex,” Fonda noted, adding, “He’s a great kisser. It was fun to kiss him in my 20s and then to kiss him again in my almost-80s.”
In a panel at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2023, Fonda said she “was in love” with Redford.
“I made four films with him, and for three, I was in love with him. Which meant I had a really good time,” she said.
But Fonda also dissed Redford.
“He did not like to kiss,” Fonda claimed. “I never said anything [to him about it]. And he’s always in a bad mood, and I always thought it was my fault.”
“He’s a very good person. He just has an issue with women,” she added of Redford.
Redford’s publicist confirmed his passing on Tuesday.
“Robert Redford passed away on Sept. 16, 2025, at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah — the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved,” Rogers & Cowan PMK chief executive Cindi Berger told The Post in a statement. “He will be missed greatly. The family requests privacy.”
A cause of death was not given.
Leave a Reply