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Duvall in 2011, DFree / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Robert Selden Duvall
Date of Birth: January 5, 1931
Place of Birth: San Diego, California, United States
Date of Death: February 15, 2026
Place of Death: Middleburg, Virginia, U.S.
Ethnicity: English, along with German, Swiss-German, French, Welsh, and Scottish
Robert Duvall was an American actor and filmmaker. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for Tender Mercies (1983). His roles also included the films To Kill a Mockingbird , Bullitt , True Grit (1969), M*A*S*H (1970), THX 1138 , Lawman (1971), The Godfather , and its sequel, The Godfather Part II ; Joe Kidd , The Outfit (1973), The Killer Elite (1975), The Seven-Per-Cent Solution , Network (1976), The Greatest (1977), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), The Betsy , Apocalypse Now , The Great Santini , The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper , The Stone Boy , The Natural (1984), Colors (1988), The Handmaid’s Tale (1990), Days of Thunder , Rambling Rose , Newsies (1992), Falling Down , Wrestling Ernest Hemingway , Geronimo: An American Legend , The Paper (1994), Something to Talk About , The Scarlet Letter (1995), A Family Thing , Sling Blade , The Apostle , The Gingerbread Man , Deep Impact , A Civil Action , Gone in 60 Seconds , The 6th Day , A Shot at Glory , John Q. , Assassination Tango , Gods and Generals , Open Range , Secondhand Lions , Kicking & Screaming (2005), Thank You for Smoking , Lucky You , We Own the Night , Four Christmases , Crazy Heart , The Road (2009), Jack Reacher (2012), The Judge (2014), Wild Horses , which he directed and wrote; In Dubious Battle , Widows (2018), 12 Mighty Orphans , Hustle (2022), and The Pale Blue Eye ; the series Naked City , Ike , Lonesome Dove , and Broken Trail ; and the made-for-tv movies The Terry Fox Story , Stalin (1992), and The Man Who Captured Eichmann .
He was the son of Mildred Virginia (Hart), an actress, and William Howard Duvall, a Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy. His father was born in Virginia. His mother was born in Missouri. His mother was said to be related to American Civil War General Robert E. Lee, whom he played in Gods and Generals . Robert’s ancestry was English, along with German, Swiss-German, French, Welsh, and Scottish. Like many Americans with the surname in their family tree, Robert was a descendant of Mareen Duvall (1625-1694), a French Huguenot emigrant, from Nantes, Province of Brittany, Kingdom of France.
Robert was partly raised in Annapolis, Maryland, a naval hub; and attended school in Severna Park, Maryland; St. Louis, Missouri; and Elsah, Illinois. He served in the U.S. Army from 1953 to 1954. Robert was married to Argentinian actress and director Luciana Pedraza, until his death. Luciana was the granddaughter of aviator Susana Ferrari Billinghurst, who was the first South American woman to have earned a commercial pilot’s license, in 1937.
Robert’s paternal grandfather was Abraham Lincoln Duvall (the son of Andrew Jackson DuVall and Sarah F. Bohannon). Abraham was born in Virginia. Andrew was born in Alexandria, Virginia, the son of William Henry DuVall and Sarah C. “Sally” Williams. Robert’s great-grandmother Sarah was born in Virginia, the daughter of Thomas Bohannon and Elizabeth C. Dunn.
Robert’s paternal grandmother was Laura Virginia Rhine (the daughter of William Henry Rhine and Alice Marie Wine). Laura was born in Virginia. William was the son of Christopher Henry Rhine and Lucinda Herndon. Alice was the daughter of Thomas Wine and Sarah S. West.
Robert’s maternal grandfather was Felix Stanley Hart (the son of Robert Johns Hart and Martha Elizabeth Stanley). Felix was born in Louisiana. Robert’s great-grandfather Robert Hart was born in Georgia, the son of Derrell/Darryl Hart and Jane Pitts. Martha was born in Alabama, the daughter of Felix Stanley and Samantha Abigail Evans.
Robert’s maternal grandmother was Sarah E. Graham (the daughter of Malcolm Graham and Marianna C. Drummond). Sarah was born in Missouri. Malcolm was the son of William Graham and Elizabeth Jackson.
Sources: Genealogies of Robert Duvall – http://www.wikitree.com http://famouskin.com https://www.geni.com
Genealogy of Robert’s father (focusing on his own father’s side) – http://www.findagrave.com
Notes on some of Robert’s mother’s ancestry – https://hergestgenealogy.wordpress.com