Robert Duvall is celebrating another trip around the sun.
The Oscar winner, whose 94th birthday is on Jan. 5, 2025, has more than 60 years of experience on screen. Beginning with his wordless, yet striking performance as Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird, Duvall has amassed dozens of credits across TV, film and stage, including all-time classic films like The Godfather and M*A*S*H. In total, he has eight Academy Award nominations with one win for Tender Mercies, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globes, a SAG Award and a BAFTA Award.
As the legendary actor turns 94, look back at his life in photos, from his early days in theater to movie star status and his quiet life in Virginia with wife Luciana Pedraza.
Robert Duvall’s Childhood
Robert Selden Duvall was born on Jan. 5, 1931, in San Diego, California, to Navy Rear Admiral William Duvall and actress Mildred Duvall (née Hart). He spent most of his childhood in Annapolis, Maryland, and attended Principia College in Elsah, Illinois, for a bachelor’s degree in drama.
After graduating from college in 1953, he served one year in the U.S. Army. In 1955, he began studying under acting teacher Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City, where he met friends Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman.
“I was terrible at everything but acting — I could barely get through school,” Hoffman told PEOPLE in a 1977 interview.
Robert Duvall’s Early Career
Duvall began his acting career onstage, performing in plays around New York for much of the ‘50s while working day jobs at Macy’s and the post office.
His first TV role came in 1959 in an episode of the anthology series Armstrong Circle Theater. Throughout the late ‘50s and into the ‘60s, Duvall began making one-episode guest appearances in anthology series like The Twilight Zone, police procedural Naked City and crime drama The Fugitive.
‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and Film Breakthrough
At the recommendation of screenwriter Horton Foote’s wife, he booked his debut film role in the adaptation of the famous Harper Lee novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Duvall played town outcast, Boo Radley, opposite Gregory Peck’s Atticus Finch and Mary Badham’s Scout.
After To Kill a Mockingbird’s critical acclaim, the film roles came rolling in. Duvall landed parts in 1966’s The Chase with Jane Fonda, Marlon Brando and Robert Redford, 1969’s True Grit with John Wayne and 1970’s M*A*S*H with Donald Sutherland, among many others.
Robert Duvall Wins an Oscar
The acclaimed film actor racked up several Oscar nominations for 1972’s The Godfather, 1979’s Apocalypse Now and 1981’s The Great Santini, but he didn’t claim the coveted award until the 1983 drama Tender Mercies. His portrayal of Mac Sledge — a former country music star recovering from alcoholism and trying to repair his relationship with his ex-wife and daughter — earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor.
“I forget that what we’re really here is to single out who we think is the best for that given year, and if that’s what I am to be this year, I appreciate it. I accept it with an honor, and I am very moved because of that,” Duvall said in his speech. He then thanked the Academy and country musicians like friend Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings for accepting and honoring the film.
Duvall later received three more Oscar nominations for The Apostle in 1997, A Civil Action in 1998 and The Judge in 2014.
Robert Duvall’s Marriage to Luciana Pedraza
Duvall, who had been married three times, met his current wife Luciana Pedraza in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at a bakery in 1997. According to the actor in a 2011 interview with Esquire, Pedraza approached him to extend a party invitation. He showed up, and the rest was history.
In 2001, the couple founded The Robert Duvall Children’s Fund to assist impoverished children and families in northern Argentina, as well as help women in the country start their own businesses.
They married in 2005 and have appeared together in two films, 2002’s Assassination Tango and 2015’s Wild Horses.
“She said, ‘Oh, what will it be like when we grow old together?’ And I said, ‘I already am old,’“ he joked to Oprah.com in 2015. “We enjoy each other’s company. Love is an important thing, you know. All kinds of love.”
Robert Duvall Wins an Emmy
Following three previous Emmy nominations for Lonesome Dove, Stalin and The Man Who Captured Eichmann, Duvall won his first Emmy in 2007 at 75 years old for his performance in Broken Trail.
“Sometimes you can make a very prestigious film, and it’ll only be seen by six people and go directly to DVD. But we did over $30 million for this,” said Duvall, who also won outstanding miniseries as an executive producer for the show.
Robert Duvall’s Most Recent Roles
He continued acting into the 2010s and 2020s, most notably starring in Billy Bob Thornton’s Jayne Mansfield’s Car, Jack Reacher with Tom Cruise, The Judge with Robert Downey Jr. and the heist thriller Widows. For his portrayal of Joseph Palmer in The Judge, Duvall earned praise and multiple award nominations, including an Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actor.
Most recently, he starred in two 2022 films, Hustle and The Pale Blue Eye.
Of retirement, Duvall said during a talk at Hollins University in 2022, “There always comes a day where you say, ‘That’s it, no more.’ I haven’t quite come to that, but almost.”
Robert Duvall’s Life Today
Today, the actor lives with his wife of nearly 20 years Pedraza on a farm in Virginia’s Fauquier County.
Duvall joked to PEOPLE (The TV Show!) in 2021 after turning 90, “Love the most [about being 90]? I don’t know if I love any of it, but day to day with my wonderful wife.”
He continued, “She takes care of me, and I have good friends, and try to work out and keep in some kind of shape.”
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