At the 98th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, Barbra Streisand took the stage as part of the ceremony’s In Memoriam segment to honor Redford, who passed away on September 16, 2025, at age 89. However, Jane Fonda says that she feels she should have paid the tribute.
Jane fonda playfully makes the confession
At an Oscar night party, Jane Fonda told Entertainment Tonight, “I want to know how come Streisand was up there doing that for Redford?” She playfully added that Streisand, 83, “only made one movie with him, I made four! I have more to say.”With a laugh, Fonda said she “was always in love with him. The most gorgeous human being and such great values. And he did a lot for movies, he really changed movies, lifted up independent movies.”
Barbra Streisand’s collaboration with Robert Redford
Streisand starred with Redford in the Sydney Pollack-directed 1973 romance drama ‘The Way We Were.’ Onstage at the Conan O’Brien-hosted ceremony, she delivered a moving tribute to the actor-filmmaker, followed briefly by a rare live rendition of the hit song of the same name, over a decade since she last performed it at the Oscars for composer Marvin Hamlisch.“He was a brilliant, subtle actor,” the ‘Funny Girl’ Oscar winner said onstage of Redford. “And we had a wonderful time playing off each other because we never quite knew what the other one was going to do in the scene.”
Jane Fonda’s films with Robert Redford
Fonda, on the other hand, starred with the late Redford in 1960’s ‘The Tall Story,’ 1966’s ‘The Chase,’ 1967’s ‘Barefoot in the Park’ and 2017’s ‘Our Souls at Night.’ In a statement shared on the day her friend died, the two-time Oscar-winning actress said, “It hit me hard this morning when I read that Bob was gone. I can’t stop crying. 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.“This year’s Oscars In Memoriam segment included such Hollywood heavyweights as Rob Reiner, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Catherine O’Hara, Val Kilmer, Robert Duvall, and more.
