Jane Fonda

Lore & Background

Jane Fonda was born in New York City to socialite Frances Ford Seymour and actor Henry Fonda. She made her acting debut in the 1960 Broadway play There Was a Little Girl, earning a Tony nomination, and her screen debut the same year in Tall Story. She rose to prominence with comedies such as Cat Ballou (1965), Barefoot in the Park (1967), and Barbarella (1968). Her first husband was Barbarella director Roger Vadim. Fonda won Academy Awards for Best Actress for Klute (1971) and Coming Home (1978), and received additional Oscar nominations for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), Julia (1977), The China Syndrome (1979), On Golden Pond (1981), and The Morning After (1986). She also won a Primetime Emmy Award for The Dollmaker (1984).

Reader's Guide

Jane Fonda's significance lies in her dual impact as a leading actress and a prominent activist. Her filmography includes both commercial hits and critically acclaimed dramas, and she is one of the most awarded actresses of her generation. Beyond acting, she revolutionized the home fitness industry with her exercise videos, beginning with Jane Fonda's Workout in 1982, which became the highest-selling VHS ever. Her political activism, including her 1972 visit to Hanoi and her nickname 'Hanoi Jane,' as well as her later protests against the Iraq War and her feminist and environmental work, have made her a controversial but influential public figure. Her return to television in the Netflix series Grace and Frankie (2015–2022) further cemented her enduring relevance.

Did You Know?

• Jane Fonda was named after Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII, to whom she is distantly related on her mother's side.
• She released 22 exercise videos over 13 years, collectively selling over 17 million copies.
• Fonda was photographed sitting on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun during a 1972 visit to Hanoi, earning the nickname 'Hanoi Jane'.
• She cofounded the Women's Media Center in 2005.