Robert Duvall, the Academy Award-winning actor whose career spanned more than seven decades and produced some of the most indelible performances in American cinema, has died. He was 95.
Duvall passed away on February 15, 2026, at his home in Virginia. His wife, Luciana Pedraza, confirmed that he died peacefully, surrounded by loved ones.
In a statement shared on Facebook, Pedraza wrote: “Yesterday we said goodbye to my beloved husband, cherished friend, and one of the greatest actors of our time. Bob passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by love and comfort.”
“To the world, he was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, he was simply everything,” she continued. “For each of his many roles, Bob gave everything to his characters and to the truth of the human spirit they represented. In doing so, he leaves something lasting and unforgettable to us all.”
Born Robert Selden Duvall on January 5, 1931, in San Diego, California, he was the son of a U.S. Navy rear admiral. Though expected to follow in his father’s footsteps, Duvall gravitated toward acting. He studied drama at Principia College and later trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York under Sanford Meisner, alongside classmates Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman, and James Caan.
He made his film debut as the reclusive Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), a quiet but powerful introduction to a career defined by emotional precision and understated authority. Through the 1960s and ’70s, Duvall became one of Hollywood’s most respected character actors, appearing in films such as Bullitt, True Grit, MASH*, and THX 1138.
His breakout came as Tom Hagen in The Godfather (1972), a role that earned him his first Academy Award nomination. He reprised the part in The Godfather Part II and went on to deliver one of his most iconic performances as Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore in Apocalypse Now (1979), cementing his place in film history.
Duvall received six Academy Award nominations over his career and won Best Actor for his performance as country singer Mac Sledge in Tender Mercies (1983). Other Oscar-nominated roles included The Great Santini, The Apostle, A Civil Action, and The Judge. In addition to his Oscar, he earned a BAFTA Award, four Golden Globes, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Equally at home on stage and television, Duvall won an Emmy for the AMC miniseries Broken Trail and delivered acclaimed performances in Lonesome Dove and Stalin. He continued working steadily into his 80s and 90s, appearing in films such as Open Range, Crazy Heart, Jack Reacher, Widows, and Hustle.
Beyond acting, Duvall directed several projects, including The Apostle, which he also wrote and starred in. A passionate Argentine tango dancer, he frequently traveled between the United States and Argentina with Pedraza, whom he married in 2005.
Duvall was married four times and is survived by Pedraza. He had no children. Over the course of a career that spanned seven decades, Duvall built a body of work marked by discipline, range and an unwavering commitment to authenticity. As Francis Ford Coppola once said, he was “one of the four or five best actors in the world.”
With his passing, Hollywood loses one of its most formidable and enduring talents.
RIP, Mr. Duvall.
REELated:
Bud Cort, Harold and Maude star, dies at 77
