Lola Van Wagenen is an American producer, historian, activist, and co-founder of Consumer Action Now (CAN). Throughout her lifetime, Lola Van Wagenen has been married twice. Her first union was with Robert Redford, an American actor, and filmmaker. However, her 27-year-long union with Robert ended in 1985 before she decided to move on with her current husband, George Burrill.
Before we tell you more about Lola Van Wagenen’s spouses, it is important to note that she first came to the public’s attention as the wife of actor, Robert Redford. However, in her own right, she is an executive producer of several screen works, including Miss America: A Documentary Film, broadcast on the PBS series American Experience in January 2002, and The State of Marriage, released in 2015. Also, she is the author of books like Sister-Wives and Suffragists: Polygamy and the Politics of Woman Suffrage 1870- 1896.
Lola Van Wagenen met Her First Husband in 1957
In December 1938, Van Wagenen was born in Provo, Utah, and grew up in a Mormon family. But as an adult, she looked into various traditions and schools of religious and intellectual thought.
She initially met Robert Redford in 1957 while visiting Los Angeles. Robert is an American performer and director best known for playing the uptight newlywed spouse in Neil Simon’s 1963 play Barefoot in the Park. His portrayal in the 1973 crime thriller The Sting earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Also, The Way We Were (1973), All the President’s Men (1976), and The Electric Horseman (1979) are just a few of the movies he proceeded to appear in after his career debut.
Meanwhile, with Ordinary People (1980), Redford made his feature film directing debut and went on to win four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. He also appeared in movies like Brubaker (1980), The Natural (1984), and Out of Africa (1985). His latter acting credits include The Old Man & the Gun (2018), Truth (2015), and Our Souls at Night (2017).
Robert has received a plethora of awards including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, two Golden Globe Awards, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 1996, the Academy Honorary Award in 2002, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2005, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016 and the Honorary César in 2019. In 2014, Time magazine listed him as one of the 100 most important persons in the world.
Lola was married to Robert Redford for Nearly a Decade
Lola and Robert got married a year after they met. They tied the knot in Las Vegas on August 9, 1958. Five weeks after the pair walked down the aisle, a formal Mormon ceremony took place at Lola’s grandmother’s home in compliance with Lola’s family beliefs and tradition.
Soon after their union, the pair were blessed with 4 children. They are Scott Anthony Redford (September 1, 1959 – November 17, 1959), Shauna Jean Redford (62 ), David James Redford (May 5, 1962 – October 16, 2020), and Amy Hart Redford (52).
In 1985, after being married for 27 years, Robert and Lola split as a result of irreconcilable differences. Also, Robert has previously said that his divorce with Lola was amicable and they still maintain a great friendship.
Meanwhile, the estranged pair have moved on with their separate lives. In July 2009, Redford married his longtime partner, Sibylle Szaggars, at the Louis C. Jacob Hotel in Hamburg, Germany, and the pair are still an item to date.
Meet Lola and Robert’s kids
Scott Redford, the first child of the estranged couple, sadly passed away from sudden infant death syndrome at the age of 2+12 months and was laid to rest in the Provo City Cemetery in Provo, Utah. However, Shauna Redford their second child, is a painter and is married to the popular journalist, Eric Schlosser.
Furthermore, James Redford, their third born was a writer, producer, and environmentalist. James had two liver transplants in 1993 to treat the consequences of primary sclerosing cholangitis. The James Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness was established by him as a result of his transplant experience. Also, his debut documentary, The Kindness of Strangers, which was directed by Maro Chermayeff in 1999, was produced by him through the institute.
On October 16, 2020, at his home in Fairfax, California, Redford passed away from bile duct cancer, at age 58.
Moving on, Amy Redford is Lola and Redford’s last child together. In her family’s entertainment spirit, Amy Redford is an actress, director, and producer. She is known for films like Maid in Manhattan, This Revolution, and Sunshine Cleaning.
Also, Amy directed the film The Guitar which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. In 2022, she directed Roost which had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.
Meanwhile, Lola Van Wagenen and Redford have seven grandchildren.
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She Married Her Second Husband, George Burrill on July 17, 2002
Lola Van Wagenen avoided marriage for 17 years following her breakup with Robert Redford in 1985 until she opted to start a new marital relationship with George Burill in 2002.
She married George Burrill, Ph.D., the founder of the international development firm ARD, on July 17, 2002, in Shelburne, Vermont.
Meanwhile, Lola Van Wagenen’s husband is currently serving as Vermont’s Honorary New Zealand Consul. When a catastrophic earthquake devastated New Zealand, he was a representative of the United States at the United States New Zealand Partnership Forum that year.
The couple works together on various philanthropic projects
After Burill returned to Vermont from New Zealand, he partnered with his wife and organized a successful fundraiser that pooled over $70,000 for earthquake recovery programs. Also, Van Wagenen now serves on the Robertson Scholars selection committee, which grants scholarships to international students at Duke University and the University of North Carolina. Furthermore, the couple formed the New American Scholarship Fund at Champlain College in 2012.
Meanwhile, Van Wagenen has held several leadership positions with nonprofit organizations since the 1970s, including those with Shelburne Farms, the Vermont Historical Society, and the New York Women’s Foundation. In 1977, she also worked with the US Office of Technology Assessment’s Task Force on Appropriate Technology. She further participated in the 1979 International Year of the Child National Commission.
