If you’ve ever gone down a rabbit hole looking for Lola Van Wagenen images, you probably noticed something pretty quickly. Most of the shots are grainy, black-and-white snaps from the 1960s or 70s. She’s usually leaning into a young, shaggy-haired Robert Redford, looking like the poster couple for a brand of Americana that doesn't really exist anymore.
But here’s the thing. If you only see her as a "celebrity wife" in those old photos, you’re basically missing the entire point of who she is.
Lola Van Wagenen wasn't just some person who happened to be married to a Hollywood icon for nearly three decades. She was—and is—a powerhouse historian, an activist who was shouting about the environment before it was "cool," and a woman who reinvented herself completely after a very public divorce in 1985. Honestly, the way she managed to stay so private while being half of one of the most famous couples in the world is kind of a masterclass in dignity.
Beyond the Red Carpet: What Those Images Actually Show
When people search for these photos, they’re often looking for a glimpse into the early days of the Sundance Kid. You see them at premieres, or maybe that famous shot of them with their kids in New York City. But look closer at the photos from the late 70s.
You’ll start seeing images of Lola at podiums.
She wasn't there to look pretty. She was there as the co-founder of Consumer Action Now (CAN). In 1970, she and a group of friends started this non-profit because they were worried about how consumer habits were trashing the planet. While her husband was filming The Way We Were, Lola was lobbying for the Toxic Substances Control Act.
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The Shift from "Mrs. Redford" to Dr. Van Wagenen
There is a specific set of images from the early 2000s that I find way more interesting than the vintage Hollywood stuff. In these, she’s older, usually wearing glasses, and often surrounded by books or archival materials. These are the "Dr. Van Wagenen" years.
After her kids grew up, she didn't just retire to a villa. She went back to school. Like, really back to school. She got her bachelor’s in 1982, then a master’s, and finally a Ph.D. in American History from NYU in 1994.
Think about that for a second.
You’re in your 50s, you’ve been through a high-profile divorce, you have plenty of money, and you decide to grind through a doctoral dissertation on 19th-century Mormon women and suffrage. That’s not "lifestyle" stuff; that’s a deep, intellectual pivot.
The Visual Legacy of Clio Visualizing History
If you want to see what Lola Van Wagenen cares about today, don't look at Getty Images. Look at Clio Visualizing History.
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She co-founded this organization in 1995. The goal was basically to take history out of dusty textbooks and put it into films and online exhibits. If you’ve seen the PBS American Experience documentary on the Miss America pageant, you’ve seen her work—she was the executive producer.
The images she curates now are about other people.
- Early female photographers who were forgotten by time.
- The complex history of the feminist movement.
- The "Click!" moment—that instant when a woman realizes society's rules are kind of a scam.
It’s almost like she spent the first half of her life being the subject of the camera and the second half deciding exactly what the camera should be pointed at.
Tragedy and Resilience in the Public Eye
We can't talk about her life—or the photos that document it—without acknowledging the heavy stuff. Lola and Robert Redford went through things that would break most people.
They lost their first son, Scott, to SIDS in 1959. Then, in 2020, they lost their son James to cancer. James was a filmmaker and activist just like his mom. When you see images of Lola from these periods, there’s a noticeable weight to them. She’s always been incredibly private about her grief, rarely giving interviews. In a 2002 interview with Seven Days, she flat-out said, "I’ve tried to be a very private person with a very private life."
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It’s sort of refreshing, right? In an era where everyone is oversharing on Instagram, here is someone who did the "famous" thing and decided it wasn't for her.
Why We Still Care in 2026
Lola Van Wagenen is still relevant because she represents a very specific kind of female evolution. She didn't let her 20s define her 80s. She remarried in 2002 to George Burrill and continued her work in Vermont and New Zealand, focusing on education and student exchanges.
If you’re looking for her today, you’re more likely to find her mentioned in an academic journal than a tabloid.
Actionable Insights for Researching Her Work
If you actually want to understand her impact beyond the surface-level celebrity stuff, here is how you should actually look into her history:
- Check out the "Click!" Exhibit: Go to the Clio Visualizing History website. It’s a massive, interactive look at how the women's movement changed the world. It’s way more interesting than a red-carpet photo.
- Read her Dissertation: If you’re a history nerd, look for Sister-Wives and Suffragists. It’s her published work on the politics of woman suffrage in Utah. It’s genuinely insightful and shows why she’s respected in academic circles.
- Watch "The State of Marriage": She executive produced this 2015 film about the legal battle for same-sex marriage in Vermont. It shows her continued commitment to social justice.
- Look for her Environmental Writing: Search for old archives of the CAN Newsletter from the early 70s. It’s wild to see how ahead of her time she was regarding things like toxic chemicals and solar energy.
Basically, the next time you see one of those old Lola Van Wagenen images on Pinterest or a "Vintage Hollywood" blog, just remember there’s a Ph.D. and decades of activism behind that smile. She wasn't just along for the ride; she was driving her own car the whole time.
To truly appreciate her legacy, focus on her contributions to public history and her role in shaping how we visualize the stories of American women. Her transition from a public figure to a behind-the-scenes intellectual powerhouse remains one of the more underrated stories in modern cultural history.