Early Life
Redford was born in Santa Monica, California. His mother, Martha W. (née Hart), was born in Texas, to Archibald Hart and Sallie Pate Green; and his father, Charles Robert Redford, Sr. (November 19, 1914 – April 2, 1991), was a milkman-turned-accountant from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, son of Charles Elijah Redford and Lena Taylor. He has a step-brother, William, from his father's re-marriage. Redford is of English, Irish, Scottish, and Scots-Irish ancestry (his surname originates in England).
Redford's family moved to Van Nuys, California, while his father worked in El Segundo. He attended Van Nuys High School, where he was classmates with baseball player Don Drysdale. He has described himself as having been a "bad" student, finding inspiration outside the classroom, and being interested in art and sports. He hit tennis balls with Pancho Gonzales at the Los Angeles Tennis Club to warm him up. After high school, he attended the University of Colorado for a year and a half, where he was a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. While there, he worked at the restaurant/bar The Sink; a painting of his likeness is prominent in the bar's murals. After being asked to leave the University of Colorado, he traveled in Europe, living in France, Spain, and Italy. He later studied painting at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and took classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.
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