Jane Fonda is an American actress, political activist, and former fashion model. She is a member of the famous Fonda acting dynasty, being the daughter of actor Henry Fonda and the sister of actor Peter Fonda. Over the course of her career, she has won two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards among other accolades.
Fonda was born on December 21, 1937, in New York City. Her early life was marked by tragedy, with her mother Frances Ford Seymour committing suicide when Fonda was just 12 years old. Fonda attended boarding school in her early years, later studying art history at Vassar College.
She started her acting career in the 1960s with a series of successful movies such as “Period of Adjustment” (1962), “Sunday in New York” (1963), and “Cat Ballou” (1965). However, it was in the 1970s that she really came into her own as an actress, winning her first Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the film “Klute” (1971). She won her second Oscar for “Coming Home” (1978).
Aside from her acting career, Fonda became known for her political activism during the Vietnam War. She was a vocal opponent of the war and was famously photographed sitting on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun during a 1972 visit to Hanoi, an event that earned her the nickname “Hanoi Jane”. This act was highly controversial and led to a backlash from some quarters in the United States.
In the 1980s, Fonda further diversified her career by releasing a series of highly successful workout videos, which were credited with popularizing the aerobics craze of the time. She became a fitness guru and her first exercise video, “Jane Fonda’s Workout”, was the highest-selling VHS of all time.
Fonda continued to act throughout the 1990s and 2000s, with roles in films like “The China Syndrome” (1979), “On Golden Pond” (1981), “The Morning After” (1986), and “Monster-in-Law” (2005). In recent years, she has found success on the small screen, notably in the Netflix series “Grace and Frankie” (2015-2020) for which she received multiple Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
Aside from her acting and political activism, Fonda is also an advocate for environmental causes and women’s rights. She was arrested multiple times in 2019 during climate change protests in Washington, D.C.
Jane Fonda remains active in both her acting career and political activism. Her long and varied career, as well as her outspoken activism, have made her a controversial but undeniably significant figure in American cultural history.