Jane Fonda

Jane Seymour Fonda is an American actress and activist whose career spans more than seven decades in film, television, and theater. Born into an acting family, she became one of the most prominent performers of her generation. She is best known for her award-winning dramatic and comedic screen roles, her fitness workout videos, and her political activism.

Fonda was born on December 21, 1937, in New York City to socialite Frances Ford Seymour and actor Henry Fonda. Raised alongside her brother, Peter Fonda, she attended Vassar College before studying art in Paris. Before pursuing acting, she worked as a model and appeared on the cover of Vogue. Her interest in acting was solidified in 1958 after she met Lee Strasberg and joined the Actors Studio.

Fonda made her acting debut in the 1960 Broadway play There Was a Little Girl, earning a Tony Award nomination, and made her film debut that same year in Tall Story. During the 1960s, she starred in comedies such as Sunday in New York, Cat Ballou, and Barefoot in the Park, as well as the science-fiction spoof Barbarella, directed by her first husband, Roger Vadim. She achieved critical acclaim for her dramatic turn in They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, receiving her first Academy Award nomination.

In 1971, Fonda won her first Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Klute. She established herself as a major dramatic lead throughout the decade, earning additional Oscar nominations for Julia, The China Syndrome, and Coming Home, for which she won her second Academy Award. She also starred in a series of successful commercial films, including Fun with Dick and Jane, California Suite, and 9 to 5, and won a Primetime Emmy Award for the television movie The Dollmaker.

In 1982, she released her first exercise video, Jane Fonda's Workout, which became the highest-selling VHS tape ever and spawned a multi-video franchise. Following her divorce from second husband Tom Hayden, she married media mogul Ted Turner in 1991 and temporarily retired from acting. After divorcing Turner in 2001, she returned to the screen in the 2005 comedy Monster-in-Law and later returned to Broadway in 33 Variations.

Fonda's subsequent work includes films such as Youth, Book Club, and 80 for Brady, as well as starring in the Netflix comedy series Grace and Frankie from 2015 to 2022. Alongside her competitive awards, she has received several lifetime achievement honors, including the AFI Life Achievement Award and the Cecil B. DeMille Award.

Outside of acting, Fonda has been active in political causes since the counterculture era. Notable for her opposition to the Vietnam War—including a 1972 visit to Hanoi—she has also protested the Iraq War, advocated against violence against women, and engaged in environmental and feminist activism. She cofounded the Hollywood Women's Political Committee and the Women's Media Center.