Chance encounter led to actor Robert Duvall's most enduring love story with fourth wife
Moderator - Tomas Kauer 
When Academy Award winning actor Robert Duvall death was announced today, it was his wife of 21 years who broke the news to fans.
The Oscar-winner, who was 95, was one of the most prolific actors of his generation and was known for the gruff but endearing characters he played.
But Luciana Pedraza's statement reminded fans of the man behind the accolades, as she wrote: "Yesterday we said goodbye to my beloved husband, cherished friend, and one of the greatest actors of our time.
"To the world, he was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, he was simply everything."
Here we take a look back at the loves of Duvall's lives and what led him to finding his soulmate, Pedraza.
Starting out and career breakthrough
Robert Selden Duvall was born on January 5, 1931, in San Diego, California. His mother Mildred was an amateur actress while his father William was a Rear Admiral in the US Navy.
Duvall served in the US Army for one year and his father wanted him to attend the Naval Academy but after basic service he moved to New York to study acting at Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre where his classmates included Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman and James Caan.
Duvall, who had already appeared on stage before his short-lived army stint, returned to the stage in 1956, then made his TV debut in 1959.
He appeared in multiple TV roles as a guest star until his big break came in the critically acclaimed 1962 film, To Kill a Mocking Bird, starring Gregory Peck.
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First wife
It was during filming that Duvall met Barbara Benjamin, who had been an announcer and dancer on The Jackie Gleason Show.
They married in 1964, and Duvall became a stepfather to her two children from a previous marriage.
The couple did not have any children of their own, and divorced in 1975.
The Godfather
By then, Duvall was beginning to make a name as a character actor, although not yet as a lead actor.
He received an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor for his role as Tom Hagen in the 1972 film The Godfather.
He also appeared in the film's sequel and the 1976 film The Eagle Has Landed.
He received another Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor and won the BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for his role as Lt Colonel Kilgore in the 1979 film Apocalypse Now.
His line, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning", is one of the most famous quotes in movie history.
Second marriage
The 80s saw more success and a second marriage, to Gail Youngs, an actress and the sister of actors John Savage, Robin Young and Jim Youngs.
She worked steadily throughout the 80s and early 90s.
They married in 1982 but divorced four years later.
Their marriage coincided with his roles in True Confessions, The Natural and Tender Mercies, which saw him sing on film.
The 90s began with a starring role in the Tom Cruise/Nicole Kidman film Days of Thunder.
He played the father of Julia Roberts and Krya Sedgwick in Something to Talk About (1985) and an astronaut tasked with saving the world in the 1998 disaster film Deep Impact.
Dance partner
The 90s saw another brief marriage, this time to dancer Sharon Brophy.
They reportedly met at a tango class in New York in 1986.
They wed in 1991 and were also together four years before the actor filed for divorce in 1995.
Like his previous two marriages, it ended without children.
Chance meeting
The year after his divorce was finalised, Duvall began dating Luciana Pedraza, an Argentine actress and director, whose paths first crossed paths in Buenos Aires in 1996.
Unknown to many, Duvall was a skilled tango dancer, having first learned the dance in the 1980s after seeing the show Tango Argentina.
He visited Argentina numerous times to study the dance and immerse himself in the culture.
It was on one such visit he met Pedraza.
He told Esquire in 2010 they met by chance.
"I met my wife in Argentina. The flower shop was closed, so I went to the bakery," he recalled.
"If the flower shop had been open, I never would've met her."
They told The Austin Chronicle in 2003, it was Pedraza who made the first move.
"My friends said, 'Go invite him to our party. He loves the tango,'" she said.
"So we walked around the block and talked. I said, 'Mr Duvall, here's my card. If you wanna come to this party, my friends would love to have you'. And he came."
She also claimed she didn't know who he was at first.
"He thinks I'm lying, but I swear to god," she said.
"He was Bobby. And still, to me, he is just Bobby.
"And then I saw him working on The Apostle, and saw some of his other films, and I was able to admire his work."
Age difference
He told Esquire he was at first worried about their 41-age difference.
"I was a little concerned about being with a much younger woman at first. So I asked [actor] Wilford Brimley about it," he said.
"Wilford is a very sharp guy. He used to be a bodyguard for Howard Hughes. He said, 'Let me tell you something, my friend, the worst thing in the world for an old man is an old woman!'"
They appeared together in the 2002 film Assassination Tango, which was shot in Buenos Aires. He also produced and directed the film.
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The couple, who shared the same birthday, January 6, albeit 41 years apart, married in 2005.
Despite never having children, in 2011 they founded The Robert Duvall Children's Fund, to help impoverished children and families in northern Argentina.
Duvall worked steadily throughout the early 2000s.
He was nominated for a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award for his supporting role in the 2014 film The Judge opposite Robert Downey Jr.
He continued to work into his 90s, appearing in two films released in 2022.
'Keeps me in shape'
He credited his wife with keeping him fit in a 2018 interview with The Daily Beast.
"My wife. She keeps me in shape," he said when asked how he continued to work.
He reportedly also trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and practiced with his wife.
The couple kept a relatively low profile in recent years, living quietly at their 120-hectare ranch in Maryland, Virginia.
'Simply everything'
It was here Duvall died this week, with his wife announcing his death on his Facebook page this morning (AEST).
"Yesterday we said goodbye to my beloved husband, cherished friend and one of the greatest actors of our time," she wrote.
"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.
"His passion for his craft was matched only by his deep love for characters, a great meal, and holding court.
"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.
"Thank you for the years of support you showed Bob and for giving us this time and privacy to celebrate the memories he leaves behind."
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