Lena Redford, James Redford’s Daughter, Shares Heartfelt Tribute to Her Late Father

James Redford’s daughter, Lena Redford, is paying special tribute to her father after he died Friday at the age of 58. Just days after Redford, the son of legendary actor Robert Redford, lost his battle to bile-duct cancer, Lena took to Instagram to reflect on her loss, sharing an emotional post to her late father.

In the post, Lena shared a gallery of images and videos, including a collage with images of her family. Her father married his wife, Kyle Redford, in June 1988 after meeting at the University of Colorado, where he earned a degree in film and creative writing. Along with Lena, they also welcomed a son, Dylan. The post also included an image of Lena and Redford at the lake, a clip of her and her father in the car, and a sweet journal entry, as well as several others.

“My dad died on friday. he was really special and I am really sad. my dad really loved his life,” Lena announced in the post. “A lady told me recently ‘don’t cry that it’s over, smile that it happened’ and I wanted to punch her in the face. but she’s not exactly wrong!”

Lena said that even as she mourns the loss of her father, she is “able to smile because my dad made me laugh so much.” She said that she feels “very lucky,” noting that her father, a documentary filmmaker, “loved me and my brother so much. we got to make all these stories and go on all these road trips.” Lena said that even while her father was in hospice care, “we snuck in a road trip to see his sisters in utah,” which she admitted was “an objectively Bad Idea but he loved those. Addicted to them!!! Classic rock and candy, too.” She ended her post by writing, “i love my mom and my brother and my dad forever.”

According to Lena’s mother, who was the first to share news of Redford’s death, Redford died Friday at their home in Marin County, California. Remembering her husband as someone who “lived a beautiful, impactful life & was loved by many” and “will be deeply missed,” Kyle later revealed that Redford died following a battle with bile-duct cancer. The filmmaker – whose credits include The Kindness of Strangers, Toxic Hot Seat, Paper Tigers, and The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia – previously had a liver transplant in the early 1990s. After his liver diseases returned two years ago, it was while he was awaiting a liver transplant in November of last year that he was diagnosed with cancer.